


La Vie en Rose

by Apharine



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: AU where reader and friends are older, Aged-Up Character(s), Also AU where Rose was partially possessed by Eternatus, Dirty Talk, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I stan Chairman Rose, Non-Graphic Violence, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Vaginal Sex, as I have stanned many problematic characters before, i have a type, is that an AU tho??, like early to mid twenties, when they start their pokemon journey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:15:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 84,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23814457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apharine/pseuds/Apharine
Summary: You haven't been the new Champion of Galar for long - not even a week.  But you can't stop replaying the events of the Darkest Day in your head, and if you're being honest with yourself, the image, the sound, of Chairman Rose interrupting your battle with Leon to announce his inability to control Eternatus haunts you every time you step onto the pitch at Wyndon Stadium.  You need to move past these ghosts to become the best Champion you can be, so you go to the only place you can hope to get any answers.  You go to visit Chairman Rose in jail.What you find is the shadow of a once-powerful man - a man who might not have been entirely himself during the Darkest Day.
Relationships: Chairman Rose/Reader, Rose | Chairman Rose/Reader, Rose/reader
Comments: 280
Kudos: 146





	1. Taxi for One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everybody! Guess who just finished SwSh? Guess who's favorite person in the whole game was Chairman Rose? That's right, it's me, your local fanfic author who's had a thing for problematic but attractive villains ever since Loki in the Avengers! Anyway if you're looking for a fanfic where Rose is problematic but well-intentioned, intelligent yet also dumb and not super-manipulative, this might be your fic! If you're also confused as to why Lusamine got woobified for being 'possessed' by the UB, and wonder why so few fics present a similar explanation for Rose's behavior, spoiler alert - this might also be your fic! If you're here for relationship development, some angst, hurt/comfort, good. If you're here for outrageously explicit smut, also good (I'll let y'all know what chapter to skip to for that when it's up, if you're here just for that). As always, comments, story ideas, and kudos are very appreciated! In the meantime, I hope you all are staying home and staying safe and healthy out there <3

_It’s probably one of those rich-people prisons,_ you think to yourself as you tell the Corviknight taxi driver your destination. _The kind where it’s like house arrest, but there’s, like, a whole swimming pool and tennis court attached to your house._

The taxi driver raises an eyebrow at you - _You’re the Champion, right? Why are you going there?_ \- but he doesn’t actually ask you any questions, just punches a few numbers into a device and tells you what the fare will be. You pull out your wallet from your bag and pay him, plus an ample tip for being kind enough not to pry.

The longer you’ve spent being Champion - and it hasn’t been _that_ long, really, not even a full week yet - the more grateful you are for people who don’t want to know every facet of your life. The drone of the press has been overwhelming. Probably more overwhelming than usual, you figure as you open the taxi door and sit down in the backseat, in light of the events surrounding your Championship win. Everyone wanted the inside scoop. Everyone wanted to know what happened.

Hell, _you_ wanted to know what happened.

You’ve been unable to stop replaying that day in your head whenever you have a spare moment, and right now is no different. You run through everything, starting at Bede’s desperate gamble to try to defeat you and prove something to himself. That in itself had been jarring enough, but everything seemed to go as expected after that - at least until the end of the finals. And then everything stopped making sense, with Leon not showing up to dinner, Oleana apparently deploying a secret detachment of specially-trained League workers to keep you away from Leon and the Chairman, that battle with Oleana - Arceus, she had looked downright _unhinged_ , and you weren’t entirely sure what for, because by the time you found Leon and the Chairman, nothing was really going on. Chairman Rose had just said some vague words about disagreements, touching you on the shoulder gently, as if you were in on things and supportive of him, and you, Lee, and Hop had left Rose Tower and gotten dinner with no difficulty. Lee hadn’t wanted to talk about it, saying you had to focus on your Pokemon and the battle tomorrow, but you wish he had, because maybe things would make more sense now. Maybe things would have made more sense when your Championship battle was abruptly interrupted, Chairman Rose’s face - a face you had, probably foolishly, thought was so handsome - lighting up the big screen -

“Hey, we’re here,” the cabbie is saying, and you jolt upright, your head a little sore from where it had been resting against the glass windows of the vehicle. And, you note with some displeasure, a little bit of your own drool on your shoulder. Arceus, had you really fallen asleep? You knew you were tired, but this place was just on the outskirts of Wyndon - it wasn’t even like you’d traveled far. “You want me to come back, or…?”

“Yeah,” you say, trying to rouse yourself back into full consciousness. It’s hard - your body desperately wants more sleep than it’s been getting. “Can you be back in an hour and a half or so?” You’re not truthfully sure how long this sort of thing takes. Maybe you’ll be done in fifteen minutes. Maybe it’ll be three hours. But an hour and a half sounds fair.

“Sure thing,” the cabbie agrees, and you hop out of the taxi with a quick word of thanks, closing the door behind you. You hear the rustle of Corviknight’s wings behind you as it takes off, but you don’t turn to look, instead moving towards the great concrete building before you. It’s ugly - not beautifully sculpted or magically historical, like the rest of Wyndon is. This place looks brutish in comparison.

Unless the rich-people prison is hiding inside this one, this place is definitely not as cushy as you’d imagined.

Moreover, the harsh brutality of the architecture tells you one important thing: it was owned by someone other than Macro Cosmos. That probably meant that the Chairman was getting less special treatment than you’d imagined.

You pull out your wallet again to get your ID and approach the gate, where a uniformed security guard and their Arcanine await you, feeling a little more nervous than you wanted to admit for your first venture through a prison security screening.


	2. The First Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anybody else besides me absolutely amazed that, for once, a Pokemon antagonist was actually shown in-game to be accountable for their actions? I was so surprised when the player character overhears that Rose turned himself in to the authorities! Seriously, Max, Archie, Giovanni, Lysandre - I really don't remember anything happening to any of them?? Somehow the fact that Rose turned himself in made me love him all the more, too ;_;

About 15 minutes, one very thorough pat-down, a check-over from a Growlithe trained to sniff out who knows what, and a couple of autographs later, you’re sitting on a stool in a row of stools at an impossibly long counter. Some people occupy the other stools. Some are empty. There’s barriers on either side of each stool, so by the time you’re guided to your specific seat, you can’t see anything but the window in front of you and the phone to the side.

Your heart is pounding - began pounding, you realize, the moment you were escorted into this room. You need to do this, but if you’re honest with yourself, there’s no one you would rather forget and never see again.

But you can’t forget him, and that’s the problem.

Your palms start sweating. You pick up the phone and turn it around, pretending to be interested in its numbers and instructions. It just says “dial 03 to connect.” You go to put it down, but it’s slippery in your sweaty hands, and you fumble it a couple times as you go to put it back on its charging stand. With nothing to distract you, every minute feels like five. You consider turning around and asking the security guard assigned to you if you could please actually leave, thanks.

But then the light flicks on in the window, and you can see a whole room, bare of any effects except for a telephone, counter, and stool that match yours, plus a steel door in the back left hand corner. It feels like simultaneously forever and no time at all before that door swings open, and two figures enter the room.

It’s weird to see Chairman Rose in handcuffs, you think. Then you’re surprised at yourself - surprised that that was the first thing to come to your mind. But it is weird, you decide. And it’s weird to see him outfitted head to toe in a bright orange jumpsuit. Most of all, it’s weird to see him look so devoid of his usual pep and cheer.

Not that he deserved to have any, after what he’d done. Tried to do.

You can’t help but think that he looks small as he approaches the counter. Small in the empty room. Small compared to the security guard hovering over him, unlocking the metal handcuffs. You knew he wasn’t a terribly big man to start with - he only stood a couple inches taller than you, really - but there’s something about seeing him here that takes his presence away, and he really does look so much smaller without it. Freed of the handcuffs, he rubs his wrists for a brief moment with a quick grimace, then reaches for the phone.

You reach for yours, and dial 03.

When the Chairman greets you and says your name, a semblance of the old smile flits over his face. You’re reminded of how charismatic you had found him, how handsome.

But all that’s changed now. You know him better - know that this is just his public persona, and underneath that lies a man you don’t really understand.

“Chairman Rose,” you greet him flatly in return. When he sees you don’t return his smile, it falters a moment, but he presses on.

“I hear you won the Championship,” he says, trying to sound enthusiastic.

“I did,” you agree.

“What an amazing accomplishment! Congratulations,” he pushes on, becoming a little more genuinely animated as he continues to talk. “You must be so proud. Defeating the undefeatable Leon! A feat even I didn’t imagine was possible! That must have been quite a battle,” he adds, a little bit of a wistful look in his eye.

“It was,” you agree, still nonplussed.

“I really do wish I could have seen it,” Chairman Rose continues. “What was it like?”

“I’m not here to discuss the battle,” you respond abruptly. Rose’s face falls, and he loses all of the animation he had built up, letting one hand that had been gesturing drop to his side.

“What are you here for, then?” He asks, clearing his throat and trying to recover, but you can tell you’re seeing more of the genuine Chairman Rose now that his persona hadn’t worked with you. You take a good, hard look at him through the glass - at the man who you had been afraid to see today, at the man who had made you lose hours of sleep. Seeing him like this, looking human, looking small, is a strange relief to you. It helps, too, that he looks a little more disheveled than usual; the long strand of hair in the front of his face hangs limply, unstyled, and he has bags under his eyes. 

Those green eyes. The eyes you had thought were so kind the first day you met him.

“Two things,” you answer, feeling more in control. “One, I’m trying to decide if I’m going to go through with pressing charges against you.”

“Oh,” Chairman Rose says. You give him a moment to process this information, a moment to reply, and you’re fully expecting him to defend himself. But he stays mostly silent, taking a steadying breath and adding, “What’s the second reason?”

“The second reason,” you answer, “is that I don’t want to be haunted by your ghost anymore. I’m here to remind myself that you’re just a man, and you can’t hurt me anymore.”

“Hurt you?” He asks, and you’re more than a little mad at the way he has the audacity to sound genuinely confused, concerned even. “I know our battle was intense, but I didn’t think you had been hurt. If I had known -”

“I wasn’t hurt like that,” you interrupt him, fighting a lump building in your throat and angry tears prickling at your eyes. 

“I’m not sure I understand, then,” Rose says hesitantly. “Were you hurt as Leon tried to control the Ultimate Pokemon?”

“No!” You exclaim, and a sob rips from your throat. Arceus, how could he not get it?! “I’m not hurt physically, but I’m living in terror that someone is going to do the same thing. Or something similar enough. Every damned time I go out onto the field of your Wyndon Stadium - even for just a practice battle - I’m on edge. I’m always half-watching the big screen, not my Pokemon. I’m fucking up and making stupid mistakes. Every time anyone’s Pokemon use a move that makes a lot of noise, I hear your voice starting that broadcast over the field. I hear you after the battles, sometimes, too. I can’t focus because I’m always looking out for you. Or the next person who wants to be like you. I’m the Champion, and I hate going out on that field to battle, and I have no idea how I’m going to take on any challengers during the next Gym Challenge. I might as well just give my title back to Leon.”

There’s a long pause, and you realize from the taste of salt on your lips that you’re crying. You wipe away the tears quickly, wishing you hadn’t allowed yourself to show such weakness in front of the Chairman.

“I…am so, so, sorry,” Chairman Rose says. His green eyes are full of so much sorrow and kindness when you look at them that you can’t take it. You turn away from him abruptly, tears maddeningly streaming down your cheeks and another sob escaping your throat. “I would have never wanted this for you. I would have never wanted to do this to you.”

“Then why did you do it?” You ask, giving up on stopping the tears. “Because as much as you might say you’re sorry and you wouldn’t have wanted this, at the end of the day, Chairman, you still did it.”

“I’m not the Chairman anymore,” he reminds you gently. “I’ve stepped down. Please, just call me Rose. And if I’m honest, I don’t know if I can make you understand why I did it. But I’ll try. You have to understand, Galar…means so much to me,” he continues, and now it’s his turn for his voice to grow thick with emotion. “We have so much prosperity and happiness - more so than at any other time in our history. I wanted so badly to be able to protect that prosperity, to ensure it for all time.”

“And that justifies hurting people? Hurting me?” You ask angrily, still fighting the lump in your throat to speak. “All to fix a potential problem a thousand years in the future? And don’t just tell me I might not be able to understand again, Rose. Make me understand.”

“I never wanted to hurt anybody,” Rose says, almost interrupting you, his voice raising with emotion. “I never even considered that I was hurting you. You looked - so strong, and you acted so bravely. I never imagined, not even till now, that you were afraid.”

“How could I not have been?” You ask, your voice raising to match his. 

“I can see that now,” Rose says before you can continue. “I couldn’t before, because - oh, fuck, I don’t know how to make you understand without telling you everything.” He purses his lips and sits back, one hand tugging on the strand of hair he kept long.

“Then bloody well tell me,” you snap, then add with emphasis, “Everything.”

“It’s not that easy,” he answers, infuriating you all the more. If excuses were all he had to offer, you shouldn’t have bothered to come. You got those galore on the Darkest Day. But then he continues, “My lawyer advised me I shouldn’t talk to anyone about this. And he’s right, because it will probably ruin my case, my credibility, my popularity.” The hand that had been playing with his hair moves to his lips, fingers resting just by them. He pauses a long moment. “But if anyone will understand, it’s going to be you.”

“Understand what?” You prompt impatiently, growing increasingly tired with his games and increasingly disappointed with yourself for coming. He hadn’t changed - how could he, in not even one week? - and you were more certain than ever that your answers wouldn’t be found here.

“I couldn’t imagine you were afraid at the time because - well, I wasn’t wholly myself. I - this is harder than I expected to admit,” he sighs, his hand trailing from his lips to tug at his beard, which, you notice, isn’t nearly as well-groomed as it had been the last time you’d seen him.

In the power plant. Your mind wanders for a moment, and then you force yourself to focus back on the task at hand.

“What are you talking about?” You snap, squeezing the phone just a little tighter.

“The Ultimate Pokemon - Eternatus - it was…taking over me,” he manages, and you think you can hear just a little tremble in his voice, but then, you think you might have imagined it. “Sometimes it was me, and I was watching myself like I was another person entirely.”

“You’re saying Eternatus…possessed you?” You ask, unable to keep the incredulity out of your voice. 

“Well…yes, I suppose that’s one way of phrasing it,” he answers, tugging at his beard again.

Another excuse. You feel quite a lot like slamming the phone down and leaving.

“Isn’t that convenient,” you retort, allowing the anger, the venom, you felt to finally fill your voice. “Eternatus possessed you, and now you have a chance to plead insanity in the court. Get off on all charges, probably. What a nice setup you have.”

Rose’s lower lip quivers just a bit, and when he speaks, he sounds increasingly frantic, desperate.

"No - it’s not about that,” he insists, his voice breaking. “Please, almost nobody else in all of Galar will ever believe me. This is why my lawyer advised not to bring it up. He isn’t even sure it’s worth using this as defense in court, because everyone will assume the same as you. It’ll turn Galar against me for good. I don’t think even he believes me. But it’s true. If you don’t believe me - if you can’t believe me, I…” his voice gives out on him, and it sounds as though now it’s his turn to speak around a lump in his throat.

“You what?” You ask, no less angry than you had been a moment ago, but unable to deny the curiosity building inside you, either.

“I’ll have to live with the horror of this, alone, forever,” he manages, then tears overflow his eyes. He looks away, trying to take steadying breaths. “And I don’t know if I can.” It’s jarring to see Rose cry, and while a part of you feels undeniably smug about it - it’s what he deserves, you think - the other part of you, a larger part, can’t help but feel badly for him. 

“Okay,” you breathe, trying to steady yourself. “I honestly don’t know where to start with this. Let’s say I’m willing to believe you, if you can convince me.”

“Oh, Arceus, I don’t know where to start,” Rose moans, the tears still spilling over his green eyes. “The times when Eternatus had more power over me - they’re hazy, at best, or even just gone entirely. There are…stretches of the whole last year that I only remember in fragments.”

“Then start with what you do remember,” you prompt. Rose frowns and takes a moment to compose himself, wiping away his tears with the back of his orange sleeve, then twirling his long strand of hair nervously.

“The first time I saw Eternatus, I saw the world change around it,” he begins. “I thought they were just visions in the air of Galar, which made sense, because it was so intimately connected to our history. I’d look at it, and see the springs at Circhester, or -”

“The Wooloo fields at Postwick,” you offer quietly. “Or the lighthouse at Hulbury.”

“Yes,” he says slowly. You give him a nod of encouragement, and it’s enough - you know that he understands that you’d seen that, too. “Then I began to get ideas. I thought they were mine at first. Feed the Wishing Pieces to Eternatus. Awaken it from its slumber. But they became stronger and stronger, until they were obsessions. Then I’d start to come to in strange places, and people would tell me I’d acted…oddly. By people, I mean Oleana, mostly. She said one day, I didn’t even recognize Bede. Bede! I gave that boy his first Pokemon, so many years ago,” the quiver comes back to his lower lip, and you see tears once again welling up in his green eyes.

“I remember that day,” you tell him, all anger draining away from you. “Bede was pissed about that.”

“As he had a right to be,” Rose answers. “I had spent years getting to know him, investing in his obvious talent. How callous I must have seemed to him - as if I’d forgotten all about him! When he had nobody else in the world who loved him or cared about him!” He takes a long moment, again wiping at his eyes. When he recovers, he continues, “By the time of the Champion Cup, the idea of saving Galar through the Darkest Day was all-consuming. The visions I’d see when I got close to Eternatus had…changed. I’d see Galar - my beloved Galar - in ruins, the people living in hovels with no energy, no safety. The injuries on even children, from the cold and from the brutality of wild Dynamaxed Pokemon -” his voice gives out again, and again, he takes a moment to compose himself. “Everything I’d built, everything that let society keep running smoothly, gone. And there was never another person who appeared in a thousand years who was strong enough to stop it. No Chairman, no Champion, no successor of mine at Macro Cosmos.”

“So you felt you had to act,” you offer. Rose nods.

“The stronger Eternatus became, the less I could fight it off mentally. By the end - I felt that if I didn’t unleash it to save Galar immediately, I’d - I’d die. It was my purpose. My duty.”

“Your destiny,” you add, finishing Rose’s words. He had said that to you, down in the Power Plant - you could remember the cold ring of his proclamation. It had been then that you’d known you’d have to face him in battle - that there was no turning him back from his plans. A long silence stretches out between the two of you, and you’re sure he’s thinking of the same thing as you.

“I wrested a little bit of control back from Eternatus for just a moment that day,” Rose finally says. “Right before we battled, I remember looking down at my Escavalier’s Ultra Ball and thinking how I didn’t want to throw it. How I didn’t want to hurt you. You had been…nothing but kind and sweet to those around you, while showing the kind of strength and fortitude that Galar celebrated in its Gym Challengers. I never meant to hurt you. Please, you have to believe -”

A quiet click comes over the receiver, and the line goes silent.

“All right, that’s time,” the security guard behind you is saying. You don’t move though, feeling a mix of confusion and horror washing over you as the security guard on Rose’s end approaches him. What if Rose really…had been under Eternatus’ control?

“Put down the phone, please, ma’am,” your security guard is saying, and you comply slowly, watching Rose submit to being handcuffed again. He steals one last glance back at you as he’s escorted away, his green eyes watery and apologetic, and you meet his gaze as long as you can, only leaving when your security guard is ushering you away with one hand on your shoulder.


	3. Next Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everybody who's read this so far, and especially to everyone who's left kudos and/or commented! I'm so grateful to hear from people that they're interested in the story so far. Our next couple chapters, sadly, have relatively little Rose in them, but he'll be coming back soon <3 Also, slight content warning for discussion of implied suicidal thoughts from Rose.
> 
> Btw, this chapter clarifies things a little, timeline-wise, but just to be clear I'm setting the events of this story after the Darkest Day and the conclusion of the Champion Cup, but before the whole quest for the Legendary Pokemon that starts with your return to the Slumbering Weald. For one, the game makes it clear that Sonia has had to write a whole book by the time you return to the Weald (how cool is she!!), and for two, we don't acknowledge Sordward and Shielbert in this household...>.>

The next couple days are still sleepless, but for an entirely different reason than before. You’re mortified at the thought of - well, everything. The thought of what Eternatus could do - Eternatus, who was your Pokemon now, though you can’t bear to bring it out of its ball at the moment. The thought of a man with good intentions being twisted into doing something so heinous, and not even fully inhabiting himself while he was doing it.

You still go through moments where you think it’s just a ploy - a desperate move from a desperate man who wants to reclaim the empire he’s built.

And yet - it had been unusual for Rose to not even remember Bede’s name. How could he forget Bede, who he’d known and supported avidly since childhood? And you’d seen those visions when fighting with Eternatus. You’d seen how real they looked. You shuddered at Rose’s description of his visions - children, with horrible injuries from the cold and from wild Pokemon. You couldn’t imagine the trauma of seeing that. You couldn’t imagine feeling that if you didn’t follow through on what Eternatus asked you to do, you’d die, that it was your one and only purpose in life.

The simple truth, you figured, was that nobody knew enough about Eternatus to say what it was and wasn’t capable of. You’d seen it exert its power on yours and Hop’s Pokemon, keep them from using any moves, when you knew those same Pokemon were trying to give their all to fight for you, for Galar. And, given that it was at least 20,000 years old and contained enough energy to power Galar and provide Dynamaxing to the region forever, there was no reason to imagine that manipulating one man - possessing him, even - was much of a strain for its abilities.

But that’s not the only thing worrying you. You’re replaying many things late into each night, but among them is Rose’s words. If you don’t believe me - if you can’t believe me, I…I’ll have to live with the horror of this, alone, forever. And I don’t know if I can.

Were you supposed to report that sort of thing to someone? You spend an inordinate amount of time worrying that you should, but you don’t even know how to start, who to talk to. Ironically, if someone in the Gym Challenge had expressed similar thoughts, you would have turned to Rose himself, as the Chairman of the League. But now that it’s him with these thoughts, you’re at a loss. It’s more than a little odd to be feeling sympathy and concern for the Chairman, especially when you’re still struggling with your fear of him, of someone like him, every day in Wyndon Stadium, not to mention your anger at him for his actions that surges in you after every battle. But you can’t deny that it would effect you, somehow, if he went through with it. You’d never have your answers. You’d never see his day in court, see what an impartial jury decides about him. And, in a way, you think, you might grieve for him, too. You try to remind yourself that he’s probably watched 24/7 in the prison, though, and judging by the bare room you’d seen and the tightness of security, he didn’t have easy access to any of the implements he might need to carry out such a task. But it worries you, all the same, and you resolve to look into things further and check in on Rose as soon as you can, to give him your thoughts. One way or the other.

Then, when you wake up on your day off, Saturday, it strikes you like a Boltund out of the blue.

Oleana. She had looked unhinged during your battle with her. You’d thought it however many times since the Darkest Day. Eternatus had probably possessed her, in some way, too. To ensure its plans were successful.

The first thing you do, as you eat breakfast, is to text nearly everyone in your contact list and ask about her.

_Hey Hop, do we know where Ms. Oleana ended up? I have a couple questions for her about what she did during the Darkest Day. She didn’t really seem herself, did she?_

Send.

_Lee, you haven’t seen Ms. Oleana or heard where she is, have you? Do you have her number?_

Send.

_Hey Marnie, hope things are going well in Spikemuth! This is probably a one in a million chance, but you haven’t seen Ms. Oleana since the Darkest Day, have you? Did she seem kind of crazy to you that day?_

Send.

_Hey Professor Sonia! This is going to sound random, but do you know where Ms. Oleana of Macro Cosmos could be found? I have some questions for her about the Darkest Day._

Send.

_Hey Raihan…_

The only person you don’t text is Bede. You’re not sure he wants anything to do with you, or anything to do with anybody affiliated with Macro Cosmos, to be honest. And you really can’t blame him.

  


* * *

  


Lee was the first to text back. He was always awake early, you knew, used to the same rigorous training regimen as Champion that you were acclimating to yourself. He hadn’t heard anything about Oleana, and didn’t have her number, either, but you did appreciate the few texts to follow you exchanged. It was good to talk with someone who understood the challenges and responsibilities you’d assumed.

Hop, ever your best friend and attentive to your needs, texted back next. He agreed that Oleana was pretty buggered that day, out of her mind really, but he didn’t know where she was. But did you want to meet up and try looking for her?

It wasn’t long before Marnie and Sonia both text you back, too, neither having any information that could help you further, though Sonia is delighted to tell you she’s working on a book about the history of Galar and what she had discovered along the journey to the Darkest Day. Raihan didn’t return your text for most of the morning; you knew him well enough to figure he was sleeping in. He was a whirlwind of energy when awake, but he crashed hard when the weekend came.

You and Hop decide to meet up at the fountain in Wyndon at noon to grab lunch and brainstorm a plan. You get dressed in practical clothes, including sneakers that will let you cover a lot of ground quickly. You’re prepared to spend the weekend on a manhunt, if you have to, and you’re glad as always that Hop is willing to jump in and help you, even if he didn’t know the full situation yet. Before you leave your new apartment - specially designated for the Champion by the Pokemon League - you snatch your favorite jacket off the back of your chair. You haven’t worn it since the Darkest Day. You’d moved it in to the new place after winning the Champion title with all your other stuff, immediately pulling it out from the top of a packing box and resolving to find the nearest laundromat and get it washed since you love to wear it so much. But a trip to the laundromat has been low on your to-do list, and despite your best intentions, the jacket remains unwashed. It smells clean enough, though, you note, and besides some…dust, it looks as good as if it hadn’t been worn on an apocalyptic day.

You go to brush off some of the dust on it - from the Power Plant, you wonder? The storm itself, as you battled on the rooftop? Who knows, you shrug to yourself. As you beat the jacket, though, something falls out of the pocket and skitters under your desk. You think about leaving it, then bend down to pick it up.

It’s the monorail pass, the one that let you get to Rose Tower.

You have the sudden feeling you know where you and Hop will be starting your search.


	4. Rose Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much again to everyone who's been enjoying the story so far, and especially everyone commenting! It's so fun to get to talk with you all and share the Rose love haha <3   
>  Anyway after this chapter, there will be one more chapter without Rose, and then we'll be back to him again! Also does anyone else really enjoy Hop as a rival? I actually liked him as a character and thought he was fun, what with being Leon's little brother and all. I feel like he got a lot of hate in the fandom, but honestly, he's probably someone I would really want to have as a friend!

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Hop is saying, as you frantically shush him. He’s being way too loud in this monorail car, and you’re definitely sure you shouldn’t even have told him everything, given that Rose himself was hesitant about telling you everything. But it was hard to keep a secret from your best friend, and now was no exception. “Chairman Rose was possessed by Eternatus, who made him feed it the Wishing Stars, and who grew stronger until it eventually had near-total control of Chairman Rose.”

“Just Rose,” you hiss. “He’s not the Chairman anymore. He stepped down. And be quieter!”

“Okay, okay,” Hop concedes. “Rose stepped down when he realized what he’d done, and turned himself in. And you think Oleana was possessed, too, because of her proximity to Rose and Eternatus?”

“I think she might have been,” you admit.

“You really believe this, mate?” Hop asks, sitting back a little.

“I’m not sure,” you sigh, looking out the monorail car at the fast-approaching Rose Tower. “But if it is true, and I don’t look into it, I’ll never forgive myself for letting an innocent man suffer.”

“Right, I guess that’s fair enough,” Hop concedes, following your gaze to Rose Tower. The last time the two of you had been there…

“Besides,” you say, breaking yourself out of your thoughts. Ruminating on what had been wasn’t helpful just now. “You saw it, too, didn’t you? Those visions as we fought Eternatus?”

“Yeah,” Hop agrees, frowning thoughtfully. “Plus how our Pokemon couldn’t bloody do anything against it. That was worse than the first time we met Zacian and Zamazenta. At least our partners could move then, even if their attacks did just pass through the illusion.”

“Now arriving at Rose Tower,” an automated voice announces as a chime rings out from the PA system of the monorail car. You and Hop stand, shouldering your bags, as the doors open.

“All right, you’ve got me curious. Let’s get to the bottom of this thing,” Hop says, giving you a friendly clap on the shoulder as you both head towards the exit of the car. 

It’s more than a little strange to be standing outside of Rose Tower again. You’re not exactly…excited about being here, even though the vast front lawn is aesthetically pleasing, with its neatly trimmed hedges. All you have to do, you remind yourself, is walk in and ask the lady at the front desk if she knew where you, the new Champion, could get in touch with Oleana. That’s not hard. Battling Leon was hard. This was easy. So why do you feel as nervous as when you went to meet Rose in prison?

“Hey,” Hop says gently, throwing his arm across your shoulders. “You ready for this?”

“Ready as I’ll be,” you confirm with a nod, throwing your arm back across him and squeezing him close to your side for a moment. Even if things once again go ass-over-teakettle in there, you’ll at least have Hop with you, to provide you support and keep you safe.

You let go of each other and begin moving towards Rose Tower, Hop just a half a step behind you. You’re on edge - hypervigilant, even - but there’s nobody in the front lawn to stop you, no Macro Cosmos employees or even League employees to shout at you to halt, or force you into a battle. You supposed there didn’t need to be; nobody who shouldn’t have one had ever had a monorail ticket to this place before. The front desk lady was more than enough security, under normal circumstances.

The grand automatic doors of the Tower slide open for you, and you step into the dark, steely interior. It had struck you as odd, the first time you were in here, that the outside of the Tower should be so gorgeous and bright and sparkly, and the inside be such a dark grey with some of the sparsest lighting you’d ever seen. Seeing it a second time today, you decide it’s still pretty odd.

“Good after - oh,” the front desk lady begins, then stops in her tracks when she sees it’s you and Hop. “C-champion,” she stutters with a nervous bow. “And Challenger Hop.”

“I’m not challenging much, these days,” Hop admits with a little laugh.

“What can I help you with?” She asks, and you think you see her hand move suspiciously behind her desk.

“We’re not here to cause any trouble,” you say quickly, watching her hand pointedly. She stops moving it, and you hope it’s because she believes you and not because she’s already summoned a security detachment. “We wanted to check in on our friend, Ms. Oleana, and we were hoping she’d be here.”

“Ms. Oleana?” The front desk lady parrots, a little taken aback.

“Yes,” you confirm.

“She was an avid supporter of the Gym Challenge, as you know, and we got close with her, seeing as we got to spend time with her pretty often and all,” Hop takes over for you, embellishing just the right amount. “And, of course, we saw her on the Darkest Day. She looked -”

“Stressed,” you cut Hop off, aware that he was going to use a less polite term, like demented or loony. “Everything has been so crazy with transitioning to being Champion since, I haven’t gotten to check in on her.”

“Oh,” the front desk lady says, moving her hands to both rest on the counter, apparently mollified. You’re relieved; no footsteps echo in the halls, the lifts aren’t humming, and you still have a clear path to the exit of the tower. She hadn’t summoned any security, after all. “I apologize. I didn’t realize that you both and Ms. Oleana had grown close, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, with how involved she tends to be! But Ms. Oleana isn’t in today, I’m afraid. She hasn’t been in all week.”

“Is she doing okay? Do you know where she is?” Hop asks, leaning one elbow on the countertop in an effort to appear casual.

“Oh, yes,” the front desk lady agrees amicably. “She’s at Galar Mines number 1, doing community service on behalf of Chairman Rose and Macro Cosmos. She plans to put in quite a few hours there, so I’d imagine you can find her there probably all this week.”

“The mines?!” You exclaim, unable to conceal your surprise. You can’t imagine Oleana - tall, severe, thin to the point of bordering on frail - in a mine.

"I was surprised, too,” the front desk lady admits, leaning forward and dropping her voice, somewhat conspiratorially. “If you see her, please let her know, Macro Cosmos would be happy to find her a better assignment for her service.”

“We will!” Hop exclaims, practically spinning around and grabbing you as he made a quick dash towards the door, calling over his shoulder, “We really can’t wait to see her, though! Thank you for your help!”

You feel a wave of relief wash over you as soon as you’re out in the daylight again. Even without a surprise ambush, the inside of that tower had felt…oppressive.

“So we’ll take the monorail back to Wyndon proper, and then catch a Corviknight taxi back to Galar Mine Number 1,” Hop is saying, ushering you back across the front lawn and through the hedges to the monorail terminal.

“Hop,” you say, fishing your monorail pass out again. “Galar Mines Number 1 is halfway across the region. It’ll take us 3 or 4 hours to get there, even by taxi.”

“And?” Hop says, frowning at you as you swipe your pass for the both of you.

“The day will be practically over by then,” you protest. Even as you say it, you know it’s a pretty feeble excuse. Dinner time certainly isn’t too late for the Champion and her best friend to go venture out towards the mines. If you’re being honest with yourself - which you’re not sure you want to - you want an excuse to delay this reuinion. You’re afraid of what Oleana might say. One way or the other.

“It’ll be okay. We can stay at the Budew Drop Inn,” Hop says with a grin as the monorail approaches the station.

"Okay,” you concede, unable to think of much to rebut his offer.

“It’ll be just like old times, when we were getting ready to make our Gym Challenge debut,” Hop adds, still smiling ear to ear. You do your best to return his smile, but you’re sure of one thing: nothing will be like old times, ever again.


	5. Oleana

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter of mostly non-Rose stuff, though he does get to play at least a peripheral role this chapter, and then we're back to lots of Rose again! Oleana's post-game interaction with the player character is the basis for a lot of this chapter. Did anyone else think that maybe Oleana was going to be the villain of Sw/Sh? I know I did, because she looks really harsh and severe. But when it comes down to it, I don't think she's really evil either, just very committed to her job and to Rose and Macro Cosmos. The next Twilight Wings episode is going to be about her, it seems, and I'm really excited to see what it entails! Why must they take a whole month to come out ;_;

She’s easy to spot from a distance, even in the dim light and dizzying glimmers of color thrown from the gems in the mine. After all, you think, it’s not every day that a nearly six foot tall woman in heels with a model-like silhouette could be seen helping load up a Carkoal.

“Okay,” you breathe. “Like we discussed. I’m the only one Rose told about this whole thing, so I’m going to go talk to her. You’re going to stay back and keep guard. And help if I need you.”

“Right,” Hop agrees, flattening his back against the wall of the mine and scooching just out of the line of sight of Oleana. He flashes you a double thumbs up, mouthing at you a silent good luck.

You round the corner, walking towards Oleana as confidently as you can muster.

“Oleana,” you call, once you’re at an appropriate distance. She looks up from her work, a flash of surprise crossing her features, but she smooths it down almost immediately.

“Oh…Champion,” she says, and you can’t quite identify what emotion she’s expressing. “I never thought I’d run into you here, in the mines.”

“What are you doing here?” You ask, the question escaping your lips before you can stop it. You know what she’s doing - you’d already been told. But she looks so ridiculously out of place, you can’t stop yourself.

“I’ve been doing some voluntary community service on Mr. Rose’s behalf,” she answers. 

“Here?” You ask, still a little incredulous and not sure what else to say.

“Yes,” Oleana confirms, and for a moment, you think she isn’t going to say anything else, but eventually, she continues. “Mr. Rose…a long time ago, he used to work in a coal mine, you know.” You hadn’t, and you take a moment, imagining Rose in a coal mine. It’s a harder sell than imagining Rose in an orange jumpsuit would have been before your visit to him; he’s too elegant with his suit and hair, too soft with that little belly of his. He must have been a different person entirely, back then. Oleana is still talking, though, so you force yourself to focus on her again. “…so that’s why I’m actually happy doing this kind of work. Here - you should have one of these League cards of Mr. Rose.”

“Oh, I don’t think -” you begin, trying to think frantically about how to rein the conversation back into what you needed to talk about without being too obvious.

“You don’t need to worry,” Oleana interjects, pulling more cards than you had expected from her purse. “I have a hundred copies of Mr. Rose’s league card to hand out. They’re all signed, too,” she adds, handing you one. You take a moment to look at it - Rose is in that ridiculous incognito outfit of his, striking a pose for the camera, while Oleana lurks in the background, expressionless as ever. Rose is giving the camera an impossibly shiny smile, while he flexes his biceps and gives a thumbs up. It’s a more carefree, even downright goofy, pose than you’ve ever seen him do, and somehow, instead of cheering you up, it makes you feel a pang of sadness.

Was this really Rose, posing like that? If it was, had all of that been taken away from him?

And if it wasn’t really Rose…a shiver runs down your spine at the thought.

“Thank you,” you manage, taking your wallet out of your purse and putting the card away in it carefully.

“Oh, no, Champion,” Oleana returns. “Thank you for stopping Eternatus. I know Mr. Rose feels the same way.” She trails off for a long moment, sighing. “But he was just so worried about the future…”

“I…visited him the other day,” you begin. “We talked a lot.”

“What did you talk about?” Oleana asks, a hint of what you think is curiosity coming through her eyes, though she’s difficult to read. 

“I told him I’ve been having trouble concentrating in my battles,” you say, choosing your words carefully and deciding to leave out the full scope of your trouble. Crying in front of Rose had been bad enough - but telling him the full scope of what he’d done to you had somehow been necessary. Oleana didn’t need to know all of that. “He told me he’s had…some similar difficulties with concentrating over the last year. He said he felt he had acted oddly, at times. That sometimes, he had periods of time where he didn’t remember anything.”

“Yes,” Oleana confirms, dropping her voice. “He had mentioned that to me, a time or two.” You’re sure she’s understating things, too, but decide not to press it.

“Did he?” You ask, trying to buy yourself time. You’re not sure where to go with things next.

“He did,” Oleana confirms, but she doesn’t give you any more than that. You know she’s trying to feel you out, see how much you know.

“Did you…ever have similar experiences, Ms. Oleana?” Is all you can think to ask. She turns away from you, and for a moment, you worry you’ve offended her. She purses her lips just a little tighter, folding her arms across her chest, but ultimately turns back to you.

“If you’re asking if Eternatus did to me what I think it did to him,” she finally says, “the answer is yes. I didn’t think it had me, to be honest. But during the Darkest Day, it proved me wrong.” She pauses, waiting for you to say something, but you learn fast, and take a page from her book. You stay silent, forcing her to continue. “I’m…sorry about our battle. I only remember the end of it, when it was clear I was going to lose. I think Eternatus realized I didn’t serve much more purpose at the moment, so it gave me control of myself back, for at least the time being...” She looks deeply disturbed at this, and you note she’s shaking just a little.

“It’s okay, Ms. Oleana,” you say, reaching out and touching her lightly on one slender forearm.

“You can just call me Oleana,” she answers, touching your hand lightly with one of her own. “I’m sorry, too, for sending you downstairs, to the basement of the power plant. I remember doing that, but it was like watching someone else do it. I really did want Mr. Rose to stay safe, though, and the terror I felt imagining that the plant could collapse on him…” she trails off for a moment, her hand sliding away, and you slide yours away, too. “I think Eternatus capitalized on what I already felt, and twisted me to its will. But I should never have sent you and Hop down there, when you could have been killed, too.”

“You didn’t mean to, Oleana,” you say, feeling an odd sense of relief at some of the sense this was all beginning to make. “I know you wouldn’t have meant to hurt either of us.” 

“Thank you,” she says, and dropping her head lets out a little sniffle. You wonder, for a moment, if she’s going to cry, but it seems the sniffle had been more than enough emotion for her.

“Does Rose know about this? About…how you feel Eternatus had taken over you, in the end, too?” You ask, surprised that his lawyer was advocating for keeping the possible possession under wraps when it was clear he could have a witness who would attest to experiencing the same thing. Though, you think, Oleana might not be the most credible to a jury, either, given her obvious bias towards Rose and her connection to Macro Cosmos as it’s Vice President.

“I don’t think he does,” she admits. “Are you planning to see him soon?”

“I hadn’t really thought about that yet,” you say honestly. Today had been more of a one-step-at-a-time kind of day, to say the least.

“I’m scheduled to be on twelve-hour shifts here for the next two weeks,” Oleana says, her eyebrows furrowing. Your mouth gapes open a little in surprise - twelve hour shifts? Of hard manual labor? Was this an every day thing, with no days off? Could she even do that? “Could you please go see Rose, and talk to him about this for me? I’ll call his lawyer before my shift tomorrow to discuss this all with him, too.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” you agree, more than a little flabbergasted at everything.

“Thank you,” Oleana says, turning back to the Carkoal, who by now is growing impatient, nudging her leg. “I had better get back to work. You’ll know where to find me, if you need anything. Do you - do you have my phone number?”

“I don’t think so,” you answer, digging in your pocket to fish out your phone. You hand it over to Oleana, and she quickly swipes to your contacts screen, then types herself in.

“Just send me a text with your name and I’ll add you back,” she says, turning back to the Carkoal and grabbing a shovel.

“Sounds good,” you say, turning to go. Before you leave entirely, though, you pause, turning back to Oleana. “I have one more question for you, though, if you don’t mind. It’s just something that doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Go ahead,” Oleana says, though she’s more engrossed in her shoveling than in listening to you at this point.

“That whole secret detachment of League workers you trained to take me and Hop out,” you begin, but you don’t get much further, because she drops her shovel in surprise, whirling around to you, her long hair fanning out behind her.

“The _what_?!” She exclaims, real surprise written across her face.

“So that was Eternatus, too,” you confirm, and take a deep breath. “Don’t worry - it all worked out okay. But let me explain it to you.”


	6. The Second Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to Rose! I promised myself I'd only post a chapter a day but I literally can't resist. Also tw for violence and discussion of rape in this chapter

You and Hop stayed in the Budew Drop Inn as planned, and you found yourself a little more at ease than you’d expected. That Sunday, you’d both gotten room service breakfast, Hop bringing his food into your room, and you both sat on your bed as you ate and talked endlessly about everything that was going on. Hop had wanted to bring Leon and Raihan into it, but you’d made him promise to keep his mouth shut for now. Not everything required his older brother to step in and try to fix it.

That Sunday, you’d flown back to Wyndon together. You’d slept on Hop’s shoulder the entire four-hour flight. Between that and the good night’s sleep in the Budew Drop, you were more rested than you’d been in weeks.

Your apartment - the Champion’s apartment, you remind yourself, because one day it’ll be passed down to someone else - feels a little foreign to you, but you settle in to spend the rest of Sunday at home and rest up before another week of practice battles and exhibition battles. Raihan is on your list of opponents for the week - not just once, but multiple times. You know you’ll have your work cut out for you, handling him.

And the week does prove to be grueling. Raihan, though kind as ever off the field, is ruthless on the field, and you’re beyond frustrated to find yourself losing to him over and over again. His pep talks in the locker room about how you’ll find your way are well-intentioned, but grow quickly as exasperating as your string of losses. You’re more than relieved when you have a Thursday off from the battle regimen, built in to prevent over-training, even if it does mean that Friday will be your first exhibition match against him open to the public.

So it is that you find yourself in the back of a Corviknight taxi, on your way back to the prison to visit Rose again. You’d tried to find the taxi driver who had driven you the first time, the one who hadn’t pried into your life, but there are so many in the metropolis of Wyndon, it’s virtually impossible to find the same one twice. The driver that takes you this time is clearly younger and more interested in you, frequently buzzing over the PA to chat with you, asking what you’d been doing and where you’re going. You try to keep your answers short with as little information as possible, but you still worry that you’ve revealed too much when you admit that you’re going to visit the former-Chairman Rose at the prison.

The security screening process isn’t as scary as last time, and you again get a couple requests to autograph one of your League cards. You’re happy to comply, but at the same time, you can’t help thinking how likely it seems that you won’t be asked to do this much longer, given your ongoing streak of losses.

Rose is already waiting for you when you arrive at the visitation room this time. He’s studying one of the plain walls of his room with his head turned sideways to the glass that separates the two of you, as if the flat expanse of plaster is somehow the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. His beard has grown out quite substantially, you notice, and his hair is flat and greasy. You pick up the phone and dial - 07, this time - and he picks up without looking at you, greeting you by name.

“Rose,” you return, and though you keep your voice neutral, it’s not nearly as flat as the first time you’d met him.

“You’re back,” he observes plainly, still studying the wall.

“I am,” you agree. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our last conversation. About what you told me about Eternatus, and how it might have affected you.”

“Is that right,” Rose murmurs, sounding almost disinterested.

You pause for a moment, irritated by his apparent indifference. What is his deal right now? Would it be too much to ask him to focus on you? But maybe it’s difficult for him to, you concede. Your last visit must have been…challenging for him, to say the least. It had been challenging for you, too, but at least you still had your freedom.

“Yes,” you continue, deciding to press on. “I don’t know if I fully believe you - there’s still times where I think, oh, of course he’s going to tell me he was insane, that’s his only ticket out of this thing. But then I think, why would he have turned himself in at all? And I do remember that day with Bede, and I did see what you saw with Eternatus. So I went to talk with Oleana, and - could you at least pretend to care and face me?” You snap, finally fed up. “I don’t have to be here if you don’t give a damn, I can just -”

But when Rose turns to you, it takes your breath away.

The eye on the far side of his face is a shiny purplish black, and so swollen you can barely see a hint of his green iris under the horrendously puffy skin. He has what looks like a vicious cut just under his eye and across the bridge of the nose, scabbed but still red and inflamed. And half of his bottom lip is huge, black-and-blue to match the eye.

“Holy shit,” you breathe. It looks incredibly painful.

“I’m sorry,” Rose replies, and you’re really not sure what he’s sorry for. But you do know that you feel real pity for the man, and you soften your voice as you ask him,

“Rose, what happened?”

“After a few days of good behavior, they moved me from higher security, where I was alone, into the general population. And it turns out I’m not exactly popular with the general population,” he answers, his voice weak and unsteady, and once again, you notice how small he sounds and looks. This time, though, it doesn’t help you feel any more powerful - you feel more pity, even worry, for him.

“Rose,” you repeat his name, softly, and just your words pull tears to his eyes - or, at least, the eye that isn’t swollen shut.

“I’m not safe,” he says, his voice still wavering, barely above a whisper. His bottom lip quivers just the slightest bit. “There are a lot of people here who want to hurt me. Please, I know you don’t hold any particular affection for me, after all I’ve done, but please, don’t let these men do what they want to to me -”

“What do they want to do to you?” You interrupt him, keeping your voice low.

“I - I can’t even tell you,” he says, turning away from you again as his eyes overflow with tears.

“It’s that bad?” You ask.

Yes,” Rose manages, his voice stranged by racking sobs. He takes a moment to try to calm himself, but when he’s unable, he continues as best as he can. “They said this is just the start,” he begins. “They - said they want to make my pretty face unrecognizable. They want to...” he pauses, unable to get the words out. “They want to violate me.” He ducks his head into the crook of his elbow on the counter, hiding his face from you entirely as he says the word into the phone. “They said they’ll violate me, one at a time, then a few together. They want me to bleed all over the floor from taking them…” he trails off, unable to speak any more as he succumbs to his tears. You feel sick to your stomach at his words. Rose had made mistakes - but this was no way to get justice, and you’re horrified at the thought that there are people who want to inflict such an atrocity, such pain, on anyone else - even the former Chairman. 

“Rose,” you call to him, keeping your voice gentle. Whatever questions you had for the man, whatever reservations, now wasn’t the time to be anything but kind to him. “Have you spoken to anyone about this? To the corrections officers?”

“I tried speaking to this one,” he sobs, gesturing with his head at the guard behind him. “But he wouldn’t check the video footage of the area, and said there was no proof any of that had been said to me. Or even that I hadn’t given myself these injuries.”

“Okay,” you answer, taking a steadying breath for yourself. It’s not surprising that there are some guards, too, who want Rose to get his just desserts. “I’m going to get the guard that escorted me in. We’re going to file a complaint together. We’re going to make them look into this.” You take a deep breath, your mind working a mile a minute. “We’ll tell them we’ll go to the media and tell them you were put in with the general population, even when there was no way that could possibly be safe for you. That’ll force their hand. It’s going to be okay, Rose.”

“Thank you,” he answers, voice still small. “I know you probably want to let me just rot here. But thank you for pitying me enough to help.”

“I don’t…really want you to rot here,” you soothe him, hoping the words sound convincing enough. It’s hard to reconcile the frequent feelings of anger and fear you’ve experienced this week, thinking about him both during and after your battles, with the words you’re saying.

But when it comes down to it - you can’t bear to see this degree of suffering.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” you continue out loud, for as much your benefit as his. And you stand up, put down the phone, and turn to the guard behind you.


	7. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody give poor Rose a hug.

It turned out that you really had been able to get things moving. The threat of media involvement from the Champion of Galar, you thought, had probably helped quite a bit. You’d been questioned in an interrogation room, though it didn’t seem they needed you for much - the phone calls between you and Rose, it turned out, were recorded.

Still, you’d insisted on making sure Rose could call his lawyer, and only agreed to leave once you had gotten a phone call from the lawyer yourself confirming that he was in touch with Rose and was handling the situation. Rose would be moved somewhere he’d be safe, he assured you.

You positively collapse in bed that night, exhausted from both the ordeal at the prison and the knowledge that you have an exhibition match tomorrow afternoon - against Raihan, of all people - to prepare for. When you wake up the next day and turn on the TV over breakfast, you’re surprised to find yourself greeted by headlines proclaiming the brutalization of former-Chairman Rose and denouncing the prison’s decision to put him in with the general population. Rose’s lawyer had gone public, then. 

Newscasters talk furiously, playing up every angle - some sympathetic, some less so - while photos of Rose’s swollen, black and blue face from various angles play on a near-constant loop in the background. 

Seeing Rose’s face brings up a slew of emotions for you; everything involving him has been a rollercoaster ride ranging from fear to anger to horror to pity over the past ten days. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the extraordinary admiration - and, you admit, the small crush - you’d harbored for him before the Darkest Day. But looking at his face, photographed not long after he’d been crying to you judging by the redness and puffiness in his good eye, brings back more strongly than anything else pity.

Especially when you remember what the media isn’t reporting on, because they probably don’t know. Your stomach turns again when you think on what Rose had said about being violated until he bled. Or on what Rose had said about the impulses, obsessions, and visions planted in his head. That was another kind of violation, when it came down to it. To feel that your mind and body could both be taken away from you so easily…

The news channel you’re currently watching switches abruptly, with the newscaster announcing that their channel had an exclusive interview with a taxi driver who’d been to the prison that day. Your heart sinks, already knowing what was to come.

“Let’s switch live to Gabby, and see exactly who this taxi driver says he was driving,” the newscaster says before a cut animation flashes across the screen. You’re completely unsurprised when you recognize the young taxi driver who’d flown you to see Rose yesterday.

“...it was the Champion, and she told me she was going in specifically to see Chairman Rose -” he’s saying, but you don’t want to see his face anymore. You can already imagine the many spins the press will try to put on this - had Rose called you to help? Were you friends? Did you pull strings and get him out of there? Or, worse, had you put someone up to hurting him after becoming enemies over the course of the events of the Darkest Day?

“...received some of the original footage from the prison,” the newscaster on this channel is saying. “But a warning,” he adds. “The footage we’re about to show may be difficult for some to watch, and depicts violence and bodily harm. Viewer discretion is advised.” You don’t look away, more than a little curious to see what the footage is of. A different animated cut plays, and footage starts rolling. It’s black and white, and pretty grainy, but you can clearly see Rose, in a jumpsuit, being held in place by his arms by two similarly-clad men. A third man, also in a jumpsuit and much larger than Rose, approaches him. At least five men are gathered around in view of the camera, watching and jeering, but it’s hard to say for sure, because the lighting is so poor. There could be many more, you think, as you see a stir of movement in the corner of the camera. And then the big man winds up and socks Rose in the eye.

Rose’s head snaps back and he slumps, limp in the men’s arms, but if he’s unconscious, he recovers quickly, squirming as he tries to get away.

But the big man doesn’t strike just once. He hits Rose again. And again. And again. And then again, this time in the mouth.

You turn away, horrified, quickly changing the channel on the TV. You’d rather see an hour straight of conspiracy theories about your visit to the prison than this. Appetite all but gone, you poke at your food, but it’s not appealing anymore. You wish you hadn’t seen Rose being hurt like that. It’s not even that it’s him, in particular - you wouldn’t want to see that happen to anyone…though if you’re being honest, the mounting evidence suggesting Rose could have been under Eternatus’ command, only partially responsible for his actions at best, makes the footage all the more disturbing. You begin to worry, hoping Rose hadn’t been returned to the general population for even a moment while you were dealing with guards, attesting, and calling his lawyer. If they had put him back there - you can’t imagine. The thought grows, overwhelming you, until you pull out your Rotom phone and dial the number you had been called from last night, hoping it’ll put you in touch with Rose’s lawyer and not prove to be a number from within the prison that would lead to nowhere.

  


* * *

  


By the time you’re due to be heading over to Wyndon Stadium, you’ve heard back from Rose’s lawyer, who apologized profusely for not being able to return your call earlier, he had been busy, surely you understood. You were beyond relieved to hear that Rose had immediately been given a full medical evaluation and transferred to another facility entirely, one where he would be separated from others and safe. You’d even gone so far as to write down the facility’s name and Rose’s new mailing address when the lawyer insisted on updating you. Even with Rose’s safety off your mind, though, your head is buzzing, and the press swarm you more than ever before as you travel to Wyndon Stadium.

“Is it true, Champion, that you had also visited former-Chairman, Rose, before the assault on him by his fellow inmates occurred?”

“How long have you and Rose been close?”

“Can you confirm for us that Rose has been transferred to another facility?”

“What would you say to people who believe you engineered the attack on Galar’s once-beloved former Chairman?” 

“Are you and the Chairman romantically involved?”

“Do you have any comments, Champion?”

“No comments,” you blurt, pushing past the crowd of cameramen and interviewers. You’re more grateful than ever that the key reason the League selected the apartment you were in to be the Champion’s apartment was because it was just down the road from the stadium.

Even at Wyndon Stadium, though, things are different. There’s at least double the security entourage, and while the security guards seem embarrassed to put you through the screening process - which they’ve never done to the Champion before - they insist.

“It’s for your own safety,” one puts it.

“I didn’t hear anything about this,” you say in mild protest.

“It’s new, and the higher ups don’t want the media covering this,” one guard says.

“Give some sicko an idea,” another adds.

You’re on edge at first, finding yourself studying the tiniest details of each security guard’s uniform and shades. But when you get through the screening without a hitch, you take a deep breath, and remind yourself that there isn’t anything to be afraid of, any longer. 

You’re about an hour early for your exhibition battle, and you truthfully don’t envy the idea of going down to the locker rooms, where Raihan is likely to try to jazz you up with yet another pep talk. After a whole week of them with absolutely no measurable improvement in your performance, you really don’t want to sit through another one. Instead, you move to the center of the pitch and take your Pokemon out of their balls, letting them stretch their legs and warm up a little. The crowd is still filtering in, but a cry goes up as you appear, and you hear cheers and cries of encouragement and excitement from all sides of the stadium. But only half of your focus is on your team, and even less on the crowd. The other half of your focus is on that jumbo screen. It’s blank now. But instead of thinking about Rose as he was on the Darkest Day, in a shiny gray suit, hair perfectly coiffed, that charismatic smile on his face as he announced the worst news of your life, you’re thinking of Rose as you saw him yesterday, battered, exhausted, broken. You’re watching Rose in your mind’s eye as you saw him this morning, held down by two men bigger than him, as another hits him over and over.

 _He’s just a man,_ you think to yourself. _And he can’t hurt me._

And, while you’re still not entirely convinced yet, you’re beginning to believe he never wanted to.


	8. Victories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raihan says mental health rights!!  
> Also who else was shocked upon realizing that Raihan is straight up canonically like 6'8"? He's literally a giant! Still, he's probably my fave of the Gym Leaders, though I do really like Nessa a lot, too. Actually, I like all the gym leaders of this gen a lot. This is gonna sound mean but I didn't love the gym leaders/trial captains of Sun/Moon (idk why!! They're all perfectly fine but I didn't really connect with them!). What gen/which gym leaders are your favorite?

“Ohh, that was good food. Good food, good drinks, and a good battle. A perfect start to your exhibition season,” Raihan is saying, walking you home from a celebratory dinner you’d shared together. 

“You’re sure you didn’t just go easy on me?” You ask him, bumping your shoulder against his playfully. You’re more than a little surprised that, after 3 straight days of losses, you’d managed to eke out a victory today. It had been a close match. But Raihan laughs, shaking his head. 

“I don’t go easy on anyone,” he says, flashing you a dangerous grin. You laugh in response; that was certainly true enough. “Hey, I didn’t want to pry earlier, but now that the match is over and all, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” you agree, trying to sound nonchalant, though the question makes you a little nervous.

“Are your visits to Chairman Rose what was throwing you off your game? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want,” he adds quickly. “I just saw it on the news that you’d gone and seen him a couple times. It has to fuck with anyone’s head, being around a guy who almost got them and most of Galar killed.”

“Honestly?” You answer cheekily. “Your two or three times daily pep talks fucked with my head more than Rose did.”

“Hey!” Raihan says in mock offense. You’re nearly at your apartment now, and he slows his pace to buy just a little more time talking to you. “I was only trying to help. Lee loved a good pep talk. I figured if I could just do with you what worked with him, it’d get your head back in the game again.”

“Thanks, Raihan,” you sigh, smiling up at the man. “I appreciate that you wanted to help. Next time, no more than once a day, okay?”

“Fair deal, unless you really start fucking up again,” he laughs. “In that case, I make no promises.”

You’re at your door now, and he pauses, looking at you under your front porch light.

“You didn’t really answer my question, though,” he says, and you can tell by the worry in his voice that it’s not just plain curiosity prompting him to ask you.

“It’s kind of hard to answer,” you say honestly. “I think - visiting Rose actually helped me. This is gonna sound dumb…”

“If it does, I promise to keep it between us,” Raihan grins, but it’s a little forced; you can see too much worry underneath it all.

“Promise to keep it between us no matter what?” You ask, and you see the playfulness in Raihan’s eyes fade away, replaced by a seriousness you usually only saw in battle.

“Promise,” he agrees.

“I was fucking up because every time I went out on that pitch, I was having…flashbacks, I guess. I couldn’t focus because I kept seeing Rose’s face flash across that big screen, getting ready to announce the start of the Darkest Day. Whenever it was noisy in the heat of battle, I’d hear his voice. I was constantly on edge. And if it wasn’t him who was gonna come back to the stadium, I was worried about someone else pulling something similar enough.” You let out a deep breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “So, yeah. That’s why my performance has been rubbish this week.”

There’s a long moment of silence, and you can’t quite bring yourself to meet Raihan’s eyes. Raihan had evacuated a whole city, built around an unstable power plant, almost single-handedly, and he didn’t seem to be fucked up from it. You feel foolish for thinking that you had a right to admit to having these problems to him, when he’d been through so much worse.

“Damn,” Raihan finally says. “I wish you had told me sooner.” You raise your eyes to him.

“You…don’t think it’s dumb?” You ask. Raihan shakes his head, putting one hand on your shoulder.

“Absolutely not,” he says emphatically. “Listen, you’ve been through a lot. You’re traumatized, you know? Look…I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but I’ve been seeing a therapist for years. It just…really helps me work through things. You should probably see one, too, y’know?”

“Really?” You ask, surprised - you’d never known that Raihan went to therapy, and for some reason, had never considered it for yourself.

“Really,” he agrees. “I’ve got an appointment with mine this Tuesday, but I know she’s been pretty booked lately, because so many people have been looking for someone to talk to since the Darkest Day. If you want, you can have my appointment slot.”

“I can’t take your appointment,” you protest, but Raihan shrugs.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, and don’t honestly know what we’d talk about, anyway. I had a couple appointments back to back after the Darkest Day, and they really helped. She’s really good, and keeps things super confidential. I don’t think the press even knows I go to therapy,” he encourages you. You frown a little.

“You really want me to try this?”

“Yeah.”

You pause a moment.

“Okay,” you agree. Raihan breaks out in a smile at your words.

“Great!” He exclaims. “I’ll text her that we’re switching my time to yours, and I’ll text you with the appointment time and her address. She’s here in Wyndon, so that should work out pretty well for you.”

“Okay,” you repeat, beginning to smile a little yourself. “Thanks, Raihan. You’re a really great friend.” 

He pulls you into a hug at this; he’s the tallest Gym leader by far, at well over six feet tall, so he has to bend his knees and lean down quite a bit to be on your level. You go up on your tip toes, and together, you’re able to close the height gap between the two of you just enough to let your chin rest on his shoulder as you hug him back. He holds you tightly, the ferocity of his friendship put into his embrace.

“You’re great, too,” he murmurs into your ear. Then, pulling his strong frame back, he grins at you again. “But you know what would make you even better?”

“What?” 

“If you would get one more selfie with me to commemorate your first exhibition battle,” he beams.

“And to put up on social media, if I know you at all,” you laugh, but move back to his side as he pulls his phone out and bends down again to be at your height.

  


* * *

  


Later that night, at the desk in your apartment, you sit down with a pen, a piece of paper, and an envelope and a stamp. Off to the side, you have the piece of paper where you’d scrawled Rose’s new mailing address while on the phone with his lawyer this morning. It’s been ages since you’ve written a letter to anyone, but Rose doesn’t exactly have a phone that you can call or text, and you won’t be able to visit for another few days at best. Though, you have to admit, you’re a little surprised to find you actually want to visit him. You chalk it up to wanting to make sure he’s doing better, and focus on the task at hand.

Preparing to start the letter is probably the hardest part. _Hello Rose?_ Too weird and formal, you decide. _Dear Rose?_ That was maybe still a bit much.

 _Rose_ , you settle on for an opening.

Your phone vibrates as you write the words, and you check it quickly, seeing a read but not-yet-replied text from Hop - you’d get back to your best friend later - and a new one from his older brother, Leon. The former Champion had been surprisingly supportive of you in the past several days as you transitioned into the Champion role, and you were grateful for his kindness and graciousness.

 _Hear you had a better battle day today,_ the text read. _I’m glad._

You smile a little at this. You’re not sure if Lee has heard the press coverage of your first exhibition battle, or if Raihan, his best friend and rival, has texted him. Either way, you resolve to write back to him after you’re finished with your letter.

_I hope this letter finds you doing better than at my last visit. I called your lawyer earlier today and heard that you’ve been moved to a different facility, where you should be safer. I’m relieved to hear that. I hope the move has gone well and has brought you a sense of more safety._

You pause a moment to think, trying to figure out how you wanted to phrase your next thought.

_I want to apologize for being short and probably a little harsh with you when you weren’t looking at me during my last visit. I thought you just didn’t care. But knowing what had happened to you that day, I feel terrible for snapping at you and making things just a little worse for you. I still don’t really understand why you would try to hide your injuries from me, but the most important thing is that you’re safer now._

Your phone buzzes, and you glance over at it again. It looks like someone has started a group text. You’ll deal with it in a minute, you decide.

_I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said about Eternatus, and I went to talk to Oleana, too. It seems she went through some of what you went through, too. I think I believe you._

_Maybe I just want to believe you because it’s helping my battles go a little better. Either way, it feels good to have a little more normalcy in my life. And it does seem like there’s a lot of evidence for what you’ve said._

Your phone buzzes again, and again, and you know the group text is in full swing now.

_I’m starting therapy next week for everything._

You don’t know if he’ll actually care about that, and you feel a lot more foolish writing it down than you had felt talking about it with Raihan, somehow. Your phone buzzes again, and you sign off on the letter quickly, with a dash and your name, feeling already embarrassed of it. You fold it up quickly and stuff it in the envelope, address it to the new facility, and stick a stamp on it, resolving to take it to the post office tomorrow morning and be done with it.

In the meantime, you turn to your phone - you were right, it had been a group text, and it looked like Leon had started it. You flip through the list of everyone it’s been sent to - there’s you, Hop, Raihan, Marnie, Bede, Nessa, and Sonia. Leon was trying to organize a lunch on your next day off, saying that it was about time the group of friends celebrate their new champion.

Hop had written back immediately agreeing. Nessa had suggested Bob’s Your Uncle, the steak house in Circhester. And Raihan and Sonia both seconded and thirded that idea. Marnie, you know, is probably at a concert and won’t reply until later.

And Bede, you figure, probably won’t reply at all.

You fire off a quick text, saying you’d love to be there and to see them all. You think about your schedule for a quick minute - you have a string of weekend exhibition battles against Milo, Nessa, and Kabu running through Monday, then a blessed day off on Tuesday, give or take the apparent therapy appointment you’ve agreed to. You’re still not sure when that is - for all you know, it could be lunchtime - and you’re also hoping to get the chance to visit Rose in the new facility that day. After that, you’re training Wednesday and Thursday, with a day off on Friday. You send a second text out to the group, letting them know that you’re free all of Friday if they can make that work, then you flip back to Leon and Hop’s texts to you that you hadn’t replied to yet. A separate text from Raihan comes in - you don’t open it, wanting to finish your reply to Hop first, but it looks like he’s sent you the details about your newfound therapist as promised. As you start writing back to Hop, though, another text comes in from Sonia, confirming that Friday will work fine for her. Your mind wanders a little, and it’s not long before you’re thinking of Sonia, and moreover, her grandmother, Professor Magnolia. She had been around Eternatus, hadn’t she? From what you’d been able to piece together, she’d been studying the 20,000 year old dragon pretty intimately.

So had she been affected by it, given ideas, visions, impulses, too?

You put talking to her on your to-do list. It’ll be quite a few days before you’ll have the free time to visit her outside of Wedgehurst, but you suspect it’ll be a trip worth making.


	9. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know Rose writes lovely letters. He'd be the sweetest pen pal <3

It’s not long - a day or so - before you get a reply to your letter in the mail. Rose starts off greeting you by name - no superlatives or terms of affection, you note with relief. To your surprise, Rose’s letter is also quite a bit longer than the letter you’d written to him.

_As you have probably heard, I’ve been moved to a new facility. To say that I am safer here, and better taken care of, is an understatement. I cannot thank you enough for helping me when I needed it most. It seems to me I will forever be in your debt for both that, and for helping control Eternatus when no one else could._

_As far as why I tried to hide my injuries - it seems a foolish idea to me, now, but at the time I didn’t want to worry you with my problems. I have already inflicted so much suffering on you. To expect that you should have to deal with my issues again seemed grossly unfair. Of course, now, I can see that I acted without thinking by trying to stay turned away from you. But perhaps we can just chalk that up to a concussion, and not thinking straight?_

_Also, please don’t worry about, or apologize for, snapping at me. I hardly remember that - I only remember the kindness and protection you showed me when I was in need._

_You have no idea how overjoyed I am to hear that you are willing to consider believing me regarding what I’ve told you about Eternatus. I do not blame you in the least for continuing to be suspicious, though, and encourage you to continue considering and investigating as you’re able. If you don’t mind, would you tell me what events in particular you and Oleana discussed that make her suspect she experienced the same phenomenon as me?_

_I saw you won your first exhibition battle. I’m not surprised at all. You are exceptionally strong, and your Pokemon team’s devotion to you is obvious. I offer you my heartfelt congratulations, and wish you many more victories to come. Moreover, I hope the battle was enjoyable for you._

_Therapy sounds like an excellent idea. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve utilized therapists at various points in my life, and likely will seek out psychiatric care again as soon as I’m able. That being said, I’d like to offer for Macro Cosmos to cover all your therapy copays indefinitely. If you send a copy of your invoices to Penthouse Suite #1 at Rose Tower, your bills will be paid._

_Wishing you the best, and hoping to hear from you soon,_

_Rose_

Your first thought is that Rose hadn’t signed his name with that little Pokeball bounce he used as a flourish on his league cards. It’s the first time, actually, that you’ve seen Rose’s name signed normally.

Your second thought is that the letter…had been a lot. You read through it again, trying to process all of it a little better. Truthfully, you weren’t even sure you had expected Rose to write back at all. To get a reply as long as this is a surprise. What’s more surprising, you think on your third read through, is how tender and soft he had sounded towards you.

You pen a reply after your exhibition battle with Milo.

_Rose,_

_I’m very relieved to hear that things are going much better in the new facility. I still can’t believe that you were put in with the general population at first. I’m just glad I could help you when you needed it, and I hope things are healing up well for you._

_It’s kind of you to have wanted to avoid overburdening me with your problems. I appreciate your intention. Your execution was certainly a little bizarre though…but yes, let’s chalk it up to a concussion._

_Let’s talk about my conversation with Oleana in person. As long as nothing comes up, I’ll be by in the afternoon on Tuesday._

_Thank you for your congratulations and well-wishes with the battles. I don’t feel 100% on the battlefield yet, but it is a lot better overall. And I found myself enjoying myself more today in my battle against Milo than I have in quite a while._

_While I appreciate your kindness regarding my therapy copays, I can afford them on my own, and I don’t want to feel indebted to you. But thank you for the offer._

This time, you puzzle a bit over how to sign off. Rose’s farewell had been polite yet kind, and a simple dash with your name again feels a bit inadequate by comparison.

Eventually, you settle on _sincerely_. It’s not too much, but not too little, either.

Reading through your letter again, and comparing it to Rose’s, you feel a little embarrassed again. His had been so elegant, so kind. Yours was short, inelegant bordering on harsh, in comparison. Again, you hastily fold your letter up, stuff it in an envelope, and address it.

There’s no post on Sundays, but you’re still surprised to have a letter from Rose as early as Monday morning. You open it quickly, aware that you had to get ready for your final battle of the weekend against Kabu. Your battles against Milo and Nessa had both been challenging, to be sure, but compared to a whole week of losing to Raihan, sometimes multiple times a day, they feel like a huge relief. And they’re even more relieving when you pull through with a win on each one of them. But Kabu is notorious for his strength, and you’re more than a little nervous to square off with him later today.

The letter again opens with your name, and is again longer than you’d expected.

_Things continue to be well in the new facility. The food is infinitely better here, as well! My injuries are healing well overall. I have a doctor who examines me at least once a day to ensure all is improving as expected. He’s certain that within a week I should be mostly healed. Again, I cannot stress enough how much of this I owe to you._

_You’re very kind to allow me to write off my foolish behavior as being related to the concussion. I’ll do my best to communicate more straightfowardly with you in the future, though, to avoid causing you any unnecessary confusion or pain._

_I’m delighted to hear you’ll be (hopefully) visiting on Tuesday! I’m very much looking forward to discussing your conversation with Oleana. I think you’ll enjoy this facility much more than the last one, too._

_I heard about your success in your battle with Milo, and wish you the best of luck in your first full exhibition weekend! I’m certain you will prevail over both Nessa and Kabu. It’s good to hear that you are enjoying yourself more on the battlefield, too. Ultimately, that’s why we battle our Pokemon - for the love of the sport. If there’s no fun, no love in it, it’s hard to see the value in a good fight. Perhaps this is too soon to mention, but you reminded me of that in our fight on the Darkest Day. I hadn’t had a pleasurable battle in so long. But you’ll have to excuse me - it’s crass of me to even allow the implication that my boredom with battling can be related to the difficulty you’ve faced on the field, and especially when your difficulty has been largely because of me. I hope you know I don’t mean to draw comparisons._

_While I respect your desire to pay for your own copays, I hope you know that you wouldn’t be indebted to me at all for such a small act. I am, after all, eternally indebted to you, both for helping manage the Darkest Day, and for saving me from a terrible fate when I was in with the general population. You have saved my life, my world, twice now. I will almost certainly never be able to do the same for you. Helping you cope with the repercussions of your heroism on your mental health is the least I could ever hope to do. I won’t press further, but I will let you know that my offer stands indefinitely, with no questions ever asked._

_I’ll be cheering for you in your battles ahead, and look forward to your visit!_

_\- Rose_

You read it several times through again, then tuck it in your desk drawer with Rose’s other letter. There would be no time to reply today, what with your upcoming battle against Kabu. And hopefully, you’d be seeing Rose tomorrow.


	10. The Third Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO IS READY FOR A FEW THOUSAND WORD CHAPTER AND ANOTHER VISIT WITH ROSE?! meeee

_You’re following in Lee’s footsteps, all right! Undefeatable!_ Hop had texted you after your victory over Kabu, and you smile as you remember that text as you settle into the back of the Corviknight taxi. Though, you remind yourself, a weekend of being undefeated is not quite the same as however many years Lee had spent. Plus, you’d technically lost to Raihan repeatedly, so you weren’t really undefeated. But either way, you’re full of reinvigorated energy, and you’re actually looking forward to your visit with Rose, probably due at least in part to his letters. You’re glad he’s at least interested in discussing your visit with Oleana with him, and you’re hoping you can share your early thoughts about Professor Magnolia, as well. The new facility Rose is being housed in is a little further away than the last one, with the taxi driver quoting you an estimated hour to get there, but you’re relieved that the driver you have this time is keeping mostly silent, besides an occasional buzz over the PA to ask if you were still doing okay back there.

You’d been to Raihan’s therapist earlier in the day, and you had to admit, the visit was really helpful. You’d had a lot of ground to cover, though, and you’re looking forward to your next appointment with her, where you hoped to be able to keep diving a little deeper into things.

It was nice to have things to look forward to again, you muse to yourself as you start to fall asleep.

When the cabbie buzzes across the PA system to tell you you’ve landed, you awake with a start. This time, you’ve managed to fall asleep with your head back against the headrest, mouth wide open.

“Thanks,” you say back to him. “Can you be back in an hour and a half?” It had worked the last two times; why not stick with it, you figure?

“Sure thing,” he agrees, and you hop out of the car. You turn to the new facility, and for a moment, you think the Corviknight taxi has taken you to the wrong place entirely.

It looks like a hotel. Complete with hedges, Pokemon statues, and what you’re pretty sure is a tennis court and a pool in back, based on what you can see of them.

So _this_ is the rich people prison.

  


* * *

  


You’d signed more than just a few autographs during your security screening this time, and now you sat in a room so nice, it reminded you a bit of the premiere hotel in Wyndon, Rose of the Rondales. You can’t help but wonder if maybe a subsidiary company of Macro Cosmos runs this place, but with the list of subsidiaries astonishingly long, it’s impossible to say for sure.

You squirm on an overstuffed white leather couch, trying to get comfortable. You’d hung your favorite jacket, now laundered, on a coat rack that looked like it might have been plated with gold - or, at least, a convincing imitation. There’s a gorgeous, dark wood and glass coffee table in front of you, and the room is home to a few enormous tropical-looking houseplants. Similarly enormous oil paintings, some abstract, some depicting Galar, dot the walls, with the exception of directly across from you, where a waterfall-style fountain is built into a tiled recess, complete with a statue of a Milotic playing in the small pool at the bottom.

You feel horrendously out of place, and you’re looking forward to whenever they decide to stop keeping you in this holding room and take you to the visitation room. You’d feel more comfortable on a stool in front of glass than sitting in here.

Finally, the door opposite to the one you’d come through opens, and one of the corrections officers steps through.

And then, just behind him, comes Rose.

You spring to your feet in surprise.

“What’s going on?” You blurt out. There’s a moment of pause, where both the security guard and Rose freeze in their tracks.

“You…are here to visit with Mr. Rose, correct?” The security guard asks, sounding as confused as you are.

“W-well, yes,” you concede. “But - like - at one of those rooms with the glass separating us…” you trail off.

“That’s not how we do things here,” the corrections officer informs you. “Mr. Rose is here because he has a sufficient history of demonstrating good behavior within the corrections system. Our policies and procedures allow for in-person visitation only.”

You’re more than a little flabbergasted - what kind of prison didn’t have a system in place that allowed you to do the usual visit-through-a-phone-and-glass setup? But then the answer comes to you immediately - the kind of place that’s exactly like this. The kind of place that requires money to get into. 

“Pardon me,” Rose speaks up for the first time, his voice quiet, but, you note, with more of its commanding charisma than you’ve heard since the Darkest Day. “But if this is too unexpected for you, I…can leave.” You feel suddenly put in the spotlight, and you’re sure your face is flushing bright red. You take a deep breath and look from Rose to the corrections officer, then back to Rose again. 

It’s tempting, to throw in the towel and ask Rose to leave and let yourself go home.

But you had a lot you wanted to talk to him about, and you feel a strange, almost perverse, need to prove to yourself that you aren’t afraid of him anymore.

“No,” you say, and you’re more than a little proud that there isn’t a quiver in your voice. “That’s okay.”

“Very well,” the guard says after just a beat. “In case you aren’t aware, our policy also allows for both parties to visit without in-room supervision. I’ll be stationed outside the door, but this room is constantly monitored by multiple cameras, and if anything concerning occurs, there will be an immediate response.”

“Thank you,” you breathe, beginning to feel your heart hammer in your chest. Oh, fuck. You weren’t just going to be in the same room as Rose - you were going to be alone with him.

“You’re welcome, Champion. Mr. Rose,” the guard replies, with a nod of his head to each of you, and ducks out the door, pulling it shut behind him.

“I’m sorry,” Rose begins, not moving an inch. “I didn’t realize that you weren’t made familiar with how things work here. If this is too much at any point -”

“It’s okay,” you repeat, as much for yourself as for Rose. “But thank you.” You take a quick moment to actually look at him for the first time since he’d entered - he doesn’t have handcuffs on, you notice, and he’s not in an orange jumpsuit anymore. It seems this place requires only an orange long-sleeved shirt, which is fitted on Rose and hugs the curves of his chest and belly more than the loose jumpsuit had. Otherwise, he wears an expensive-looking pair of straight-leg, dark-washed jeans. But moreover, he looks…better, since your last visit. His beard and hair are both well-groomed again, and the eye that had been swollen shut the last time you saw him shows only a haze of a greenish-purplish bruise around it. His lip looks entirely healed.

“My offer still stands,” Rose says quietly, and you’re put a little at ease by his words, his consideration for you.

“Thank you,” you repeat yourself, then take a deep breath, and plunge forward with normal conversation. “You look a lot better.”

A soft smile lights up Rose’s face.

“I am a lot better,” he agrees. “May I come sit down?”

“Of course,” you agree, not really sure what else to say. You move to one end of the couch as he approaches, and he sits down on the far end, giving you your space. He crosses his legs and folds his hands in his lap. “Your eye’s still not entirely healed, though, is it?” You ask; with him closer, you can see that even though the bruise is not nearly as bad as it had been, it still looks worse than it had at a distance.

“Not entirely,” he agrees. “But it’s healing a lot faster than it would have on its own. I’ve gotten softboiled Chansey eggs every day since being here. It would have taken months to heal, otherwise. The doctor said my orbital bone was broken, you know.”

“Arceus,” you swear. “I’m not surprised. You looked awful that day. And…” you hesitate a moment. “I saw the footage the prison released. What they did to you - it was horrific.”

“Mm,” Rose hums. He looks away for a beat, a distant look in his eyes, and you feel immediately sorry for mentioning the footage. 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize quickly. “It’s too soon for me to be bringing that up to you -”

“It’s all right,” Rose says, turning back to you with a small smile and a wave of one of his hands. “Please, don’t worry yourself about me. You’ve already done so much for me. As I said in my earlier letters, I really am eternally indebted to you.”

“Oh, uh, well,” you stumble over your words. It was one thing to read that phrase, but another to have Rose sitting there, saying it to you, and you weren’t sure how to respond. “I’m just glad I was able to do what I could to help.”

“You’ve been more than helpful,” Rose emphasizes. “And you’ve done more for both Galar and me than nearly anyone could ever imagine one person doing. As I said, you’ve very literally saved my world twice now. If there is ever anything I can help you with - anything I can do, I hope you’ll turn to me. And,” he pauses a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase his thoughts. “I hope you know I’m not trying to brag, but please, remember that money is no object to me.”

Right. The man sitting on the couch across from you had more money than Arceus. His mere presence in a prison nicer than any hotel you could afford confirmed that fact. You were always at least peripherally aware of Rose’s wealth, but when you really considered it - between Rose Tower, Macro Cosmos, that Ferris wheel and at least half of Wyndon, the Power Plant in Motostoke and whatever stake he was allowed to maintain in the League, which you were fairly certain he’d helped organize in its modern form - Rose wasn’t just a millionaire. He had to be a multi-billionaire. And not just multi as in two or three billions - he probably had dozens.

“Um,” you stammer, more than a little unnerved at this thought. “Thank you. I really do appreciate it.” Not that you expected to ever take him up on the offer.

“Of course,” Rose says, and when you meet his green eyes, they sparkle with some of the kindness you’d seen in them when you’d first met him. “Now, you’ll have to forgive my curiosity, but I’ve been looking forward to hearing about your conversation with Oleana since I received your last letter.”

“Oh! Right,” you agree, glad that the conversation was shifting to something easier to talk about. “It took a little while to track her down, but I found her in Galar Mines Number One,” you start, deciding to skip over the fact that you still had a monorail pass you shouldn’t have and the entire conversation with Rose Tower’s front desk lady. And, of course, the fact that you’d told Hop nearly everything. Still, Rose’s brows furrow in confusion at your words.

“What was she doing there?” He asks, concern in his voice.

“Well, she was actually doing community service in the mines on behalf of Macro Cosmos and you,” you explain. Rose’s eyebrows fly sky high at this.

“Community service in the mines? For me? I know Oleana is tough in her own way, but that’s no place for her to be.” One of his hands raises to his face, his fingers resting by his lips, and he leans back into the couch a little more.

“She said you used to work in the mines,” you offer. Rose lets out a sigh at this.

“I did, before I started Macro Cosmos,” he confirms pensively, his fingers moving to play a little with some stubble just below his bottom lip. Looking at him now, hair coiffed as elegantly as ever, the softness of his belly and chest obvious under the fitted orange shirt, it’s no easier to imagine Rose as a miner than it was the first time you’d tried. “It’s brutal, at times. Brutal enough that if I were assigned to go back there for community service, I’d ask if there was anything else I could do instead.”

“She said something about how she was happy to do the work, because you’d done it once, too,” is all you can think to say. Rose looks away from you for a moment, a distant look in his eyes again.

“Oleana, you fool,” he murmurs, then turns back to you. “I’ll make some calls later and get her out of there. If she wants to do community service, I’m sure Macro Cosmos can find something safer for her.” You wonder if you should tell Rose that actually, she had looked fine in the mine and was even getting the work done in her heels - but really, you still can’t imagine that her 14 day, 12 hour shift work schedule would be reasonable for her to handle, so you decide to let it be.

You’re about to speak again when the door Rose had come through opens abruptly. You jump a little, and check your watch - was time really up already? You’d only been here a handful of minutes - but to your surprise, the person coming through the door is balancing a large platter in hand, waiter-style. 

“What’s going on?” you ask, turning to Rose, then back to the employee, who is quickly bustling into the room.

“When I heard you would be coming by on Tuesday, I, ah, ordered some refreshments for us,” he explains. The waiter sets the platter down on the glass coffee table in front of you, and you can feel your eyes widen as you take it in. To call the platter ‘some refreshments’ is a gross understatement - it’s huge, and loaded with all sorts of charcuterie, including a variety of cheeses, sliced meats, grapes, and berries, plus a pitcher of ice water. “I hope you don’t mind,” Rose adds.

“No, I - I don’t mind,” you say, still in a bit of a daze as the waiter bows and makes his way back out of the room. “This looks amazing.”

“Good,” Rose says, obviously relieved. He rolls up the sleeves of his orange shirt, pulling them just past his elbows. You feel your stomach drop a little at the sight. He looks actually quite attractive with his forearms bared; they look surprisingly muscular, and there’s something manly about the dusting of black hair on his rich, dark skin. Not that you needed to find him attractive, you remind yourself. What you need is more answers about the Darkest Day and Eternatus, who was now your Pokemon, not a crush on a multi-billionaire. You pull yourself out of your thoughts as Rose leans forward and picks up a little china plate, intricately decorated with gold leaf patterns, and hands it to you. “Dig in,” he says with a smile, and grabs a small plate for himself as well. But he doesn’t help himself to the food immediately; instead, he takes the pitcher of ice water and pours you a drink, then pours himself one, too.

You don’t even know half of what you’re looking at, so you select a few pieces of cheese, one of each berry, a couple slices of the fanciest looking meats you’ve seen, and a handful of each cluster of grapes, including one variety that looks particularly red and plump. Rose waits until you’re done, then selects his choices much as you had.

“I believe you were going to say something before this arrived?” Rose prompts, popping a grape in his mouth and watching you carefully. You chew around a piece of mystery cheese - delightful, though you don’t know what it actually is - and answer him once you’ve swallowed.

“I was going to tell you that Oleana believes she was possessed by Eternatus, too. And actually, there are some things she’d done over the last year that she didn’t even remember until I told her about them,” you muse, grabbing a berry and taking a tentative bite out of it. It’s good, too, not too spicy or sour, but a delightful mix of both.

“Really?” Rose asks with interest, leaning forward so he rests his elbows on his knees. You nod and curl your legs underneath you on the couch, settling in to tell Rose the story of your visit with Oleana, as well as the backstory of what she had done while he had been with Leon at Rose Tower.

  


* * *

  


“Arceus,” Rose curses after you finish telling him about the secret detachment of specially-trained League employees. “All this time, and I genuinely had no idea. How could I have been so blind to my own Vice President’s actions?”

“Oleana herself didn’t even know she’d done it,” you remind him, bravely trying a particularly smelly, soft cheese. It’s probably not your favorite, but it doesn’t taste as bad as you’d expected, either.

“That’s no excuse,” Rose says, setting his plate down and looking deeply disturbed. “I should know what’s going on in my own company. That was a gross violation of League bylaws. The fact that I, as Chairman, missed it…”

“Indicates that Eternatus was probably working overtime to make sure you didn’t catch on to its plans,” you finish for him. “It knew there would be people who would try to stop its plans. It needed a contingency plan, and that was Oleana.”

Rose pulls at his long strand of hair in silence for a while, finally saying,

“I had no idea you’d had to deal with that. You must have been so confused. So afraid. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. You’ve been through so much.” His green eyes lock with yours, and they’re full of genuine sorrow and distress.

“It’s okay,” you say quietly, and without thinking, you reach out to Rose across the couch, touching your hand to his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. It’s only once you’re touching him that you realize you are, and you’re confronted by a mix of emotions; he’d hurt you so badly, even if only through Eternatus’ will, and it’s hard to trust him, hard to trust that you can be in his space and be safe. But you don’t draw your hand back immediately, letting it linger a moment. “All of that is in the past now, Rose. I’m going to be okay.” It’s the first time you’ve said that, much less thought it, and you find yourself actually half-believing your words.

Rose gives you a tender smile, and to your surprise, he reaches over to where your hand rests on his shoulder, touching you lightly with his fingertips.

The contact is electrifying.

It _can’t_ be electrifying, you remind yourself.

Rose lets his fingers linger on yours, only drawing them away when you take your hand off his shoulder. As you grab a big, red grape off your china plate and pop it into your mouth, you can’t help but feel that an understanding of sorts had passed between the two of you - an understanding that you were willing to believe what had been said about Eternatus, despite circumstantial evidence at best, and an understanding that Rose was genuinely sorry for everything that had happened to you, everything he had helped to bring about.

“Mm,” you say, swallowing the grape. It had been juicy, sweet, and, somehow, more vibrantly flavored than any grape you’d ever tasted. “These are really good. Probably the best grape I’ve ever had,” you say, picking up another one off the large platter and eating it.

“You like them?” Rose asks, and you nod your head fervently. “They’re muscat grapes from the South of Kalos. If you like the grapes, you’d love the moscato wine they make.”

“I bet it’s amazing,” you sigh, shamelessly grabbing a third. Rose laughs - a rich, deep laugh.

“I’ll get some for you to try,” he promises, taking a piece of the stinky cheese off the main platter and beginning to load up his plate again. You’re a little taken aback - by both his generous offer, and by the implication that you’ll see him again, presumably over a glass of wine. The idea feels simultaneously appealing and a little overly-friendly for you at the same time.

“Mm, I wanted to mention,” you remember suddenly. “I’m going to try to talk to Professor Magnolia sometime in the next week or so. I want to hear what her thoughts are on Eternatus.”

“That’s a good idea,” Rose agrees, the smile fading from his face, replaced by a considered seriousness. “Magnolia worked closely with me on Eternatus at first, researching it. And she’s one of our region’s foremost authorities on the Dynamaxing phenomenon.”

“Exactly,” you say. “Plus, I’m curious to see whether she reports any of the same experiences as you and Oleana.” Rose nods, again leaning forward so that his elbows rest on his knees.

“I appreciate you wanting to look into this for me, even at the cost of your free time,” he begins, but you frown, cutting him off.

“It’s not just for you,” you interrupt, more than a little irritated at Rose for seeing your actions so self-centeredly. “It’s for me, too. I deserve answers for everything I’ve been through.”

Rose sits up straight, and you think you see a light blush coloring his cheeks.

“Right, of course,” he says quickly, but he doesn’t say more, and a long silence stretches out between the two of you as you decide to let the subject drop.

“I heard you won all your exhibition battles,” Rose tries, his voice a little tentative. 

“Yeah, I did,” you say. “Kabu was pretty tough, but it was really Raihan who gave me the greatest run for my money.”

“Congratulations,” Rose says, giving you another gentle smile. You feel the last of your irritation at him fade away, and you can’t help but to smile back at him as you say your thanks. Encouraged, he continues, “How did it feel?”

“It felt…a lot better than earlier this week,” you admit. “I lost to Raihan in practice battles three days in a row. I had been having problems focusing, like I’d been telling you about.” That was an understatement, but Rose nods his understanding. “But even though I didn’t feel like I was completely at my peak this weekend, I was able to focus a lot better. I only made a couple stupid mistakes, and I was mostly able to recover from them. I think…understanding everything that’s happened has helped a lot.”

“Did you feel more comfortable with the increase in security?” Rose asks, and you’re about to answer him when you pause.

“Wait, I didn’t think the media had covered that. I thought the League asked for that specifically to be kept under wraps.”

Rose practically squirms under your gaze, shifting his hips and setting his nearly-empty china plate down on the table in front of him before straightening back up. He twirls his long strand of hair nervously again.

“The media didn’t cover that,” Rose agrees slowly. “I know about it because I’m paying those workers to be there. Please, don’t be upset, and don’t think I’m just throwing my weight around, or trying to impress you,” Rose says quickly, seeing how your brow furrows at his words. “After your first visit, when you said you were worried about another threat, I realized you were right to be worried. Copycats will typically strike immediately after an event that sets a precedent, and I…certainly set a precedent,” he says ruefully, his fingers moving from his hair back to his lips for a moment. “I couldn’t do anything about it until the day I was transferred here - the day of your first exhibition battle against Raihan. But once I was here, I spent the night and morning getting in touch with the League to verify if they were planning to increase security. I was mortified to discover that they had no such plans for your opening exhibition weekend. They told me that without an acting Chairman, they were unable to authorize the allocation of additional funds. So I authorized some of my personal funds to be allocated to increasing security at the Stadium emergently, before your battle.”

You take a deep, steadying breath, trying to figure out where to start.

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” you say, feeling mildly irritated with Rose again, though you’re not wholly certain why.

“It’s not just for you, though,” Rose says gently, quickly adding, “although I do want to keep you safe, and I want you to feel safe, too. It’s for the good of everyone in Wyndon Stadium, too. All the spectators, all the vendors. If something went wrong - if someone figured out how to abuse Dynamaxing there, or who knows what, really, we need to have a more-than-adequate security response to protect the people of Galar.”

You nod slowly.

“You’re absolutely right,” you finally say. “Thank you for keeping the people of Galar safe. And thank you for keeping me safe, too. It did end up helping me keep my focus, I think.” You leave out the fact that you’d been terrified at first, meticulously checking each worker for any abnormalities in their uniform. What mattered was the end effect, which had been to help you.

“I’m glad to hear it. And I hope you remember what I said earlier,” Rose says, one finger on his chin. “If there is anything I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“Thank you,” you murmur as he picks up his china plate again.

“Looks like this is the last muscat grape,” he observes, picking up one that had been on his plate. “You should enjoy it.” 

“If you insist,” you smile. He reaches over to hand the grape to you, and you put out your hand to take it. As he drops it into your palm, a chime and an automated voice comes on over a PA system.

“You have five minutes of your visit remaining.”

You pop the grape into your mouth, savoring the flavor. Beside you, Rose’s face falls just a little.

“So soon,” he sighs, but he recovers quickly, his face smoothing back to neutral. “Can I get you your jacket?” He asks, setting his plate back down. You put yours down too.

“Sure,” you agree, and Rose stands, dusting a couple crumbs off his lap. You stand, too, as Rose moves across the room and unhooks your jacket from the expensive-looking coat stand you’d left it on.

“Can I help you get it on?” He asks, moving back towards you.

“Oh - sure,” you agree again, a little surprised - while you were used to chivalry extending to holding doors open for you, you can’t think of the last time a man offered to help you get your jacket on. You turn your back to Rose as he holds the jacket open for you, and slip one of your arms in to one sleeve, then the other. Rose helps you shift the jacket all the way onto your shoulders, and when you’ve gotten it adjusted to be comfortable, you turn around to face him.

“Will you be back?” Rose asks, and though he’s trying to keep his voice and face neutral, you can see just a little sadness in his eyes, as if he expects the answer is going to be no.

It takes you less time to decide than you’d expected.

“I’d like to be back,” you say, “if you’d like to have me?” 

“You’re more than welcome as a guest of mine anytime,” he beams, the most genuine smile of the whole visit breaking across his features as he reaches out and sets both of his hands on your shoulders. You take in a sharp breath and tense a little at the unexpected contact, before telling yourself that there’s nothing to worry about. But before you can relax, Rose pulls his hands away. “Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to -”

“No, it’s okay,” you say quickly, one of your hands flying up to rest on his shoulder, as if to soothe him and show him you weren’t afraid all at once.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Rose finally says, but sets his large hands back on your shoulders gently. “I am sorry that you weren’t informed as to the format of the visit beforehand. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to be in the same room as me, especially alone. But thank you for trying it. I’m glad I got to talk with you today.”

A myriad of emotions swell up in your chest - gratefulness that you had been strong enough to manage this visit, pride in yourself for your strength, and a mix of pity for Rose, for what you were increasingly believing he’d been through, and relief that he wasn’t the monster you’d feared. It’s a lot to feel all at once, and you feel tears prickle at your eyes.

And then you step forward and pull Rose into an embrace.

“I’m glad I got to talk to you, too,” you admit as Rose’s arms wrap around you gently, holding you lightly at first, as if he’s afraid he might hurt you. But after a moment, he holds you more firmly, pressing you more tightly into his body. You’re surprised to find you’re not repulsed by or afraid of his touch, the way you would have been at the start of the visit. He’s nearly your height, just a little taller, and resting your head on his shoulder feels natural to you. Despite not being tall, he is warm and broad and solid against you. And soft, you think, noticing the way his belly presses into you just a little.

“You have two minutes of your visit remaining,” the automated voice informs you. You let out a small sniffle, still overwhelmed by emotions, and try furiously to blink away the tears prickling at your eyes. 

“It’s all right,” Rose soothes you, one of his hands moving to the back of your head.

“I’m sorry, it’s just - this has all been a lot,” you sniff, managing to get one of your arms far enough around Rose’s shoulders to allow you to wipe your tears away.

“It has,” Rose agrees, the hand at the back of your head smoothing down your hair soothingly.

“I promise, I don’t usually cry this much,” you laugh, beginning to pull away from Rose. He lets you pull away from his shoulders, but continues to hold you close with the arm that’s wrapped around your waist.

“Me either,” he says with a laugh of his own, and when you look at him, you’re surprised to see tears welling up in his eyes, too. 

The two of you laugh together at yourselves and each other, and you’re not sure if Rose pulls you back in or if you move closer to him, or if it’s both at the same time, but you find yourself burying your nose in his shoulder and letting him stroke your hair again.

“We’re going to be okay,” he’s saying, and you wish you could hear him say that, over and over, every day, because you somehow find yourself really believing him. It’s only once you’ve calmed down that Rose pulls away slightly, and you do the same, though again, he continues holding you close by the one arm he has around your waist.

“Thank you,” you say, composing yourself. Rose smiles kindly at you.

“Thank _you,_ ” he answers. Behind him, the door he had entered through swings open again, and the same security guard as earlier enters.

“Time to go, Mr. Rose,” he says. Rose looks over his shoulder to the guard, his smile falling and a serious expression, bordering on a frown, crossing his features instead.

“All right,” he says, but he still doesn’t let go of you. “Take care of yourself, okay?” He asks.

“I will,” you agree, then add, “You take care of yourself, too, Rose.”

He nods and pulls away from you entirely, his fingers lingering for just a moment on your waist and shoulder.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you soon,” he murmurs.

“You, too,” you answer as he steps away from you. He smiles again at you, raising a hand in farewell before turning and walking back to his guard. Before he leaves the room entirely, though, he glances back at you over his shoulder one more time, smiling when he sees you’re still watching him.

And then he’s gone.


	11. Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for more slow-burn friends-to-lovers pen pals??

When you get back to your apartment, you’re ready to settle in for a mellow evening before your upcoming two days of practice battles. Today had been a whirlwind, and you’d been bouncing around between emotional highs and lows all day between both the visit with your new therapist and the visit with Rose.

Rose…your mind trails off to the long embrace the two of you had shared. You’d been unable to think of little else the entire taxi ride back to Wyndon, and your mind was still in a tailspin over it. You’re more than a little angry at yourself for being so enamored with the way he had been so warm and reassuring against you, his body the perfect mix of softness and strength, and the way he’d held on to you around your waist even when he pulled back to see you - 

You remind yourself of your earlier thought as you take off your jacket and throw it on the back of your chair again: you were there to find answers and help yourself process a major trauma. Not to start crushing on a multi-billionaire who you already had a complicated relationship with.

A multi-billionaire with a really handsome face and a great smile, a small part of your brain is saying. And not to mention the way he’d stroked your hair -

Exasperated, you flop down on your couch and turn on the TV.

“It’s the third time in not even two weeks that the Champion has visited former-Chairman Rose in prison,” a newscaster is saying, standing on the outskirts of the rich-people-prison premises. 

Fuck. How, in all of Galar, had the media heard already?! You’d literally just gotten home!

You flip to another channel, but get almost the same view.

“ - although we weren’t able to reach the Champion tonight, she has previously declined comment on the nature of her relationship with Rose, leaving us to speculate -”

You groan and turn the TV off. Couldn’t they report on how you’d managed to kick four Gym Leaders’ assess in a row over the weekend instead?

Your phone buzzes, and you pull it out to check who was texting you. Probably Hop, asking how the visit had gone, you figure.

To your surprise, it’s Marnie.

_You can visit the bloke who nearly killed us all and gave us two days of pure hell, but you can’t make it out to one of Piers’ concerts with me? This Friday. Spikemuth at 8PM. The usual place. Be there <3_

Okay, that was fair, you conceded. You needed to see Professor Magnolia, and sooner than later, but you’d already promised to spend at least some of Friday with friends - what harm would an evening concert that same day do?

You fire out a quick return text.

_Should I bring anything?_

You set your phone down and stare up at the ceiling blankly. The news had to stop reporting soon, right? Then there’d be some sitcoms to watch, or something. Maybe you could take your mind off things with a little bit of a laugh. Your phone buzzes again, and you check it again, anticipating Marnie’s reply.

But the text is from Bede.

_We need to talk_ , is all it says. Your heart sinks a little. Those words were hard enough to hear under normal circumstances, but coming from Bede, and right after the news had reported on your third visit to Rose, they somehow sound all the more anxiety-provoking.

_Like, over the phone, or in person? I’m pretty busy lately,_ you text Bede back. Your phone buzzes again - that would probably be Marnie’s reply, then.

_Just bring yourself! Or a 6 pack to share, whichever n__n_

You snort a little, but make a mental note to grab a 6 pack after lunch with the gang on Friday. Bede’s reply text comes through next, and you switch back to your thread with him.

_In person. You can make time for me._

Arceus, he was good at pissing people off.

If that was the way he wanted to be, then so be it.

Fine, you reply. This Friday. Spikemuth at 7PM. Outside where Piers plays. See you there.

You fire off one more text, this one to Professor Sonia.

_Hey Professor Sonia! I was hoping to talk to your grandmother, Professor Magnolia, about some of her research. Is she at the lab with you? Also, Marnie wants me to go to one of Piers’ Friday night concerts this week. Wanna come with?_

You stand up from your couch and walk back to your desk. Rose’s last letter to you still lays across it, unanswered. Not really sure what else to do, you sit down and start writing to him.

_Dear Rose,_ you begin, the words fitting together more out of habit of addressing many letters this way than anything. You don’t even realize what you’ve done until it’s written.

But then, you decide to leave it.

_It was good to see you today. Thank you for giving me my space at first. I really appreciated that you were conscientious about that, especially because the whole in-person visit thing took me by surprise. It was really hard to be okay with being in the same room as you, at first. But I actually ended up enjoying our visit together - it was good to talk to you about everything._

_I don’t know if I said it in-person, so I’ll say it now - thanks for sharing that charcuterie platter with me. It was absolutely delicious._

_And I know I said this once, but I’ll say it again, too. Thanks for making sure that there was extra security at Wyndon Stadium to start off my exhibition season. I can’t imagine how much it must be costing you to have all those extra workers there day after day, but it definitely makes me feel safer and helps me battle better, knowing that if anything happens, I’ll have help in keeping the crowd safe, too._

_I’ve got a couple days of practice battles ahead, and then I’m spending Friday with my friends. We’re getting lunch in Circhester and then some of us are going to one of Piers’ concerts in Spikemuth._

You leave out the fact that you’re planning to meet Bede beforehand - not because you think Rose would disapprove, but because you’re pretty sure Bede doesn’t want Rose to know anything about his life anymore. Then, you pause a moment, wondering if it’s rude to tell an incarcerated man about the fun you’re planning to have. Well, too late. You weren’t planning to re-write the whole letter.

Your phone buzzes again, and you pull it out. It’s Sonia, texting you back.

_Hey! I haven’t been to a Piers concert in months. I’m actually a huge fan of his! I’d love to go with you! Grandmum’s been doing some field work now that I’m in charge of the lab, but she says she’d be happy to come to Spikemuth, too, if talking to her there can work for you? She has some things there she wants to look at._

Your mind starts racing. You have to talk to Bede, and there’s no way he’s going to be flexible on time now that you’ve already put one out there. He’s just not that kind of person. But you really want to talk to Professor Magnolia, too - and though it’ll be a busy day, you’re optimistic that you can make it work.

_That would work fine! We can take a Corviknight taxi over after lunch, and meet her there?_

Send. You return to your letter, where you had left off about Piers’ concert in Spikemuth.

_It looks like I’m going to be meeting Professor Magnolia in Spikemuth on Friday, too. I guess she has some things she wants to look into there, and she’s able to make some time to talk to me. So that’s going to be a big day!_

_My weekend is going to be exhibition battles again, this time against Bea and another up-and-coming trainer from Stow-on-Side, Allister. I’m kind of looking forward to it, actually. Anyway, I should be able to visit again on my next day off after that, which is Monday, if that works for you?_

You sign off with sincerely and a dash of your name, then look over the letter one more time. It’s the longest letter to Rose you’ve ever written, and most certainly the friendliest, too. And, you note, you’re not particularly embarrassed of it this time. 

But it still feels like it’s missing something. You hesitate before folding it up and addressing it, then decide to add a quick postscript.

_PS - sorry for crying on your shoulder before I left today. I was just working through a lot, and was kind of overwhelmed. But thank you for being kind to me and holding me until I calmed down. Your hug was really soothing._

There. Now you’re sufficiently embarrassed of the letter. As always, you fold it up and stuff it in an envelope quickly, and address it to Rose before moseying back over to the couch. Hopefully, something mindless and funny would be on the air by now. Your phone buzzes one more time, and you pull it out again. It’s a reply from Sonia.

_She says that’ll work fine! And she says she might stick around for Piers’ concert too…she says she wants to know what all the rage is about…oh Grandmum (:_

  


* * *

  


Truthfully, by the time you’re back from your battle with Bea - an adorable, if fierce, girl - you’re hoping there will be a letter of reply from Rose. But there’s nothing yet, and you’re both disappointed and angry at yourself for being disappointed. When you turn on the TV, you’re happy to see that the media has moved on from your last outing to see Rose, and nearly every major sports station is instead covering the highlights of your victory over Bea.

You text back and forth with Hop, Leon, and Raihan that night - Hop’s asking about the latest with Rose and the Darkest Day, Leon is asking how you’re holding up, and Raihan is asking about the therapy appointment and if you were going to go back. You tell him you’ve got another one set for next week. He writes back saying he’s really happy to hear that, and he’s also delighted to tell you that his photo with you from last Friday has the 3rd most likes he’s ever gotten online.

By next morning, though, you have a letter from Rose. You try to ignore the fact that you have butterflies in your stomach as you open the envelope and smooth out the letter. The first thing that you notice is that he’s followed your lead, and started his letter with the word _Dear_ before your first name.

_You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that you were able to enjoy our visit together. I felt terrible when I realized you were blindsided by my appearance in the room. I’m so sorry that you weren’t made aware of what to expect. As I’ve said before - I certainly don’t want to inflict any more harm on you. Giving you your space and being conscientious of your response to me was the least I could do. That being said, it was certainly a delight to see you become more comfortable and warm up to me! And I’m so glad to hear that you liked the charcuterie platter. For me, the time I spent with you was very enjoyable - truthfully, a highlight of my whole week._

_Please, don’t think about cost regarding the extra security at Wyndon. There is no price too high for ensuring the safety of the public, the Gym Challengers, Gym Leaders, and Galar’s beloved new Champion! And please remember - money is no object to me. Anything that you need, that Galar needs, I can provide. And I am happy to provide, especially hearing that it has been helpful to you. Hearing you say that you’re looking forward to battling again this weekend is so wonderful. I’ll be watching your exhibition matches this weekend live, and cheering you on the whole time! Keep your cool and your focus, and let your natural talent and your Pokemon’s bond with you shine through. You are a phenomenon when you are in your element and I have every confidence in your abilities!_

_I’m glad to hear that you’ll get some time to spend with your friends in a couple days. You have a wonderful friend group, and I have no doubt that their support has been invaluable to you in the past couple of weeks. I hope they’ve been doing okay and not struggling too greatly with the repercussions of the Darkest Day - especially Leon and Hop, who I know were most greatly affected. If you think it would be okay, please send them all my best wishes._

_I’m also glad to hear that you’ll be seeing Professor Magnolia. I’ll be very curious to hear what she shares with you._

_Monday absolutely works for me for your next visit. As the saying goes, I’m not going anywhere! Forgive me if it sounds foolish for me to say this, but I’m really rather excited to see you again. And please don’t apologize for crying on my shoulder. After all, I cried on yours, too. You don’t have to explain yourself for being overwhelmed…I felt the same way. It was my pleasure to be able to hold you and help you calm down. Your embrace was very soothing for me, as well…_

_Yours,_

_Rose_

__

__

You read and re-read the letter, heart pounding and stomach doing flip flops. He has every confidence in your abilities. He’s really rather excited to see you again. It had been a highlight of his whole week when you visited. And, most of all, your embrace had been soothing for him, as well. And then those three little dots - there was so much they could mean!

You know that between your battle with the up-and-coming Allister tonight, and then the day with your friends tomorrow, you won’t have much time to write to him, so you sit down and pen a reply quickly, starting with _Dear Rose_ again.

_I don’t have too much time to write to you, because I’ll be getting ready for my battle against Allister tonight. I hear he’s a ghost-type user, so I have to do a little bit of strategizing - I haven’t faced that type in a while. But I want to get out a reply today, because the next couple of days are going to be busy._

_I definitely did end up enjoying our visit together. It’s funny - I didn’t really realize I was warming up to you until the first time I put my hand on your shoulder, when we were discussing Oleana. I’m sure you must hear this all the time, but you have a way of making people feel comfortable, and you’re very charismatic. Your charisma even comes through in your letters, and I’m finding myself looking forward to them more and more._

_Speaking of Oleana, were you able to get her moved someplace more suitable for her to do her community service? She looked so out of place in the mine. I hope she’s been doing okay._

_Thank you again for your generosity towards both me and Galar. I promise, if there’s anything I need, I’ll turn to you, Rose. And thank you especially for your support as I go into my second weekend of exhibition battles! I appreciate your advice, though I’m not certain I’d describe myself as a phenomenon, haha. I hope I’m able to pull through with two victories, and hope you enjoy watching the battles, too._

_I think all my friends are processing the Darkest Day a little differently. One of my friends was actually the person who suggested I see a therapist, because they’d done it just after the Day and it helped them a lot. Some of my other friends don’t talk about it with me, like Leon. He’s been really supportive of my transition into the Champion role, but it seems that’s all we ever discuss, so I don’t really know how he’s holding up. I’ll let them all know that you’re wishing them well, though._

_Great, Monday it is then! You don’t sound foolish at all, and I’m actually looking forward to our visit, too. I’m glad you understand what I meant about being overwhelmed in that moment, but mostly I’m so glad you found my embrace as soothing as I found yours. If I’m honest, when we were holding each other and you said we were going to be okay, that was probably the first time I really believed that. Thank you for giving that to me._

You debate for a moment on how to sign your name - should you stick with sincerely, or go with the bolder choice of “yours” that Rose had used?

_Yours,_ you write, then sign your name.


	12. Bob's Your Uncle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly?? I LOVE so many of the characters in SwSh, and I love writing this friend group so much ahhhh

When you wake up on Friday, you’re buzzing - buzzing from the joy of two days of good practice battles in a row and with excitement for the day to come.

And, if you’re honest, you’re buzzing from Rose’s words, too. It had been his pleasure to hold you. Your embrace was soothing for him, as well… 

You’re in a Corviknight taxi on your way to Bob’s Your Uncle in Circhester when you finally admit to yourself that you’re losing the battle against your growing crush on the multi-billionaire with whom you have a complicated relationship. 

When you get to Bob’s, you find that Hop, Nessa, and Sonia are already there, and have two tables put together for all of you. They all stand up and greet you with hugs and exclamations over how well your battles were going. You sit down in an empty seat next to Hop, and there’s no shortage of conversation between the four of you as others start to filter in. Marnie is next to arrive, and she claims the seat on the other side of you after another round of hugs. Raihan follows soon after, and there’s another round of hugs before he tries to settle down next to Sonia. It’s not long, though, before you all realize that Raihan’s absurdly long legs take up way too much room under the table, and that despite his protests, he cannot possibly be comfortable. Sonia agrees to swap places with Raihan, so he can stretch his legs out into the aisle better.

“Who’s left?” You ask as a waiter comes by, delivering water to each of you and asking if your whole group was ready to order.

“Lee,” Hop sighs, looking more than a little embarrassed. “I’ll bet you anything he’s lost.”

“We have one more coming,” Sonia tells the waiter with an apologetic smile. “But he’ll be here soon.”

“How are you so sure of that?” Raihan asks, a grin on his lips. “He could take another hour, if he’s really gotten himself turned around.”

Sonia waggles a Pokeball at him.

“Because,” she explains, opening it into the aisle behind him. “Yamper will find Leon and bring him here. Won’t you, boy?”

Yamper barks and waggles his whole fluffy body in anticipation, then turns and runs on stubby legs out of the restaurant.

“Thanks, Sonia,” Hop sighs, relieved. “I really should have stopped and grabbed him earlier. He’s hopeless with directions.”

“I’ll be back, then?” The waiter asks.

"I can order for him,” Raihan offers. “If everyone else knows what they want?”

A couple people scramble to look over the menu a little more closely, but the general consensus is that everyone more or less can be ready to order.

By the time Yamper arrives with Lee, there’s a veritable mountain of appetizers accumulating on the table, at least half of them ordered by Raihan.

“Does he really eat that much?” You hear Nessa whisper to Sonia, who laughs but nods.

A cheer goes up when Leon reaches the table, and Yamper jumps in Sonia’s lap, rewarded with a nibble of a french fry. It’s odd to see Leon in just regular clothes, with no cape, you think. Though, you like seeing him in jeans more than in those leggings he’d worn as Champion. Another round of hugs go around, and when Leon hugs you, he gives you an extra tight squeeze and murmurs in your ear,

“Everything still going all right?”

“It is,” you agree warmly, squeezing him back. “You?”

“Better than ever,” he grins, pulling back and moving to go mess up Hop’s hair.

“I got you your usual,” Raihan tells Lee with a big grin as Lee sits in the last empty seat next to him. “Now that we’re all here, let’s get a group selfie,” he continues, pulling out his phone, to a mix of cheers of agreement and groans.

It takes a little bit of effort to get the whole two tables’ worth of people in one shot - and to have it look good, with nobody blinking and everyone looking at the camera. In the end, your waiter offers to get a photo of you all, and it’s one Raihan is finally happy with.

The conversation is light hearted and fun between you all, with the exception of Raihan, who’s busy posting on social media. But eventually, during a natural pause, Leon looks around, and says, 

“No Bede, huh?”

“Might be better off without him,” Hop grumbles; if you had no particular affection for the new Gym Leader, Hop had even less, especially after losing to him and having to suffer through his gloating a few times.

“Oh, stop,” Marnie answers. “He’s a bugger, but he’s had a pretty fucked life, when you think about it. And he did go through the Gym Challenge with us, so…he’s at least kind of our friend.”

“His life was that bad?” Nessa, who you’re pretty sure only interacted with him during his challenge of her Gym, asks.

“Yeah, have you read his League card? Orphaned and alone and all that,” Raihan chimes in, finally putting his phone down. “And then Chairman Rose swoops in and saves him, gives him his first Pokemon.”

“Kind of rotten to put that on a public League card,” Marnie says, and you realize she’s right. Bede almost certainly didn’t write that for himself.

“He must be really upset about everything with Rose…they were pretty close,” Sonia says sympathetically, twirling her side ponytail. You nod, but don’t say anything about the text he’d sent you or your plans to talk with him. It somehow felt too…private to announce, just yet.

“Speaking of Rose,” Lee adds, turning to you. “Is it true what the media’s said? That you’ve gone to see him a few times?”

Soon, the entire table is silent, and all eyes are on you.

“Er, well, yeah,” you admit. “But it’s not anything like what the media has been saying it is,” you add quickly.

“When’s it ever?” Nessa says sympathetically.

“So are you going to fill us in, or…?” Sonia prompts, trailing off. Your heart jumps in your throat suddenly - should you tell all of them everything? About Eternatus possibly possessing Rose and Oleana? You don’t want to betray Rose’s trust, but you can’t imagine how to explain everything to them without giving them the full picture. Flustered, you turn to Hop. He looks surprisingly solemn, and turns back to you with a nod.

“We had probably better fill them in on everything we did, mate,” he says. “And then you can fill them and me in on what’s happened since.”

  


* * *

  


When you and Hop are finished telling the whole tale - with you doing most of the work on the second half of the story, but Hop having done most of the first half - there’s a moment of stunned silence.

“Huh,” Marnie finally says, one hand touching her cheek as she tips her head a little to the side. “I just thought Chairman Rose was a dumbass.”

There’s a round of laughter at this, and Raihan grins over at her.

“Your big brother is really starting to rub off on you!” He beams. Marnie shrugs and rolls her eyes a little; you don’t say what you already know, which is that she’s had all that sarcasm and spirit in her since the first day you met her. She just had a more…polite way about her with the public.

“So is this what you wanted to talk to Grandmum about, then?” Sonia asks, insightful as ever. There’s a good reason she was made Professor, you think to yourself.

“Yeah,” you agree. “I’m hoping she knows more about Eternatus than any of us do, and that she can help me make sense of all of this.”

“If anyone would, it’d be her,” Nessa agrees.

And then the food arrives.

“Keep us all in the loop going forward, would you?” Marnie asks, pulling her entree a little closer to her.

“I will,” you promise. “Speaking of in the loop, I’m meeting with Bede later today, too.”

There’s another brief discussion of the new Fairy-type Gym Leader, but soon, everyone has their food, and you’re all preoccupied with eating, occasionally mentioning how good the food is, with some of your friends offering to trade a bite of one thing for another.

Nessa has to leave first - she has a modeling shoot to get to in a few hours, and there’s a lot of prep involved. She gives farewell hugs to everyone, and when she gets to you, she pauses.

“I’m not very fond of Rose,” she admits. “He was kind of a bastard to me after a particularly tough loss, and suggested I needed to choose between being a Gym Leader and my modeling career. But I wouldn’t wish…this on him. If you see him again, tell him I hope he’s okay.” Then she gives you a tight hug, and moves on to Hop.

Raihan has to leave next, because of his training schedule back in Hammerlocke. He has to bend almost comically to give everyone - even Leon, who you’re pretty sure is at least six feet - hugs.

“Therapy helping?” He asks you quietly when it’s your turn to embrace him.

“Tons,” you agree. “Thank you.” He pulls away with one of his lazy grins and ruffles your hair affectionately. “Hey!” You laugh, but he just laughs back and hugs you quickly again, not bothering to bend down and just pulling you against his chest this time.

“What are you all up to for the rest of the day?” Leon asks, once Raihan has left.

“The new Champion and I,” Marnie grins, bumping your shoulder a little playfully, “are going to one of my big brother’s concerts tonight in Spikemuth.”

“Me, too!” Sonia adds quickly. “I’m coming along to make sure our Champ gets to talk to Grandmum, but I’m a huge Piers fan, and haven’t gotten to see him play in ages, so I’m gonna stick around for the concert, too!” After a pause, she glances at Marnie and adds, “Er, if that’s all right?”

“Of course!” Marnie beams. You’re sure that she would be perfectly happy if the whole Galar region showed up to see her big brother play. “What about you two?” She asks Hop and Leon. They both shrug. “Well, if you don’t have anything particular for tonight, you might as well come to the concert, too, then!” 

“Can five people even fit in a Corviknight taxi?” Hop asks. You shrug.

“We might have to take two,” Leon laughs. “But we’ll make it work. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Spikemuth.”

  


* * *

  


“Do you guys mind if the new Champ and I take one taxi together, and you guys go in another?” Leon asks, standing just a little closer to you. Marnie frowns a little - you know she had wanted this to sort of be your day together, but she recovers quickly with a little shrug. “It’d be good if we can talk about some Champion stuff,” Leon explains. Hop looks more defeated than Marnie - you’re not sure if he had wanted to spend time with his big brother or with you, truthfully - but he nods his agreement.

“Sure, whatever,” Sonia says, already turning to one of the two Corviknight taxis that awaited you both. You and Leon hop into the other one.

As the taxi tips and lilts into the air, Corviknight’s wings rustling above you, Leon turns to you.

“I wish you’d told me everything sooner,” he says, but there’s not an accusation in his voice, just a little bit of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Lee,” you sigh. “I just…felt like I had to work through all of this on my own.”

“Hey,” Leon says gently. “You’re never on your own. Not when you have all of us. Raihan told me he suspected something was up when you were in your first week of practice battles against him.”

You try not to cringe, remembering that first, painful week.

“Yeah, he was right. He was really helpful, in the end,” you say. “He suggested I try therapy, and recommended his personal therapist, which was really helpful.”

“Did he give you any of his pep talks?” Leon asks. “They’re the best!”

You let out a snort of laughter at this.

“Oh man, did he! I hope to never sit through another one again.”

“You don’t like them?” Leon says in disbelief.

“Maybe if I didn’t have to sit through twenty of them in three days,” you grumble.

“He means well, even if he can be a little overenthusiastic,” Leon shrugs lightheartedly, before growing serious and settling against the seat, turning to face you just a little more. “Speaking of meaning well…that’s a pretty big revelation about Chairman Rose, if it’s true.”

“I know the evidence that Eternatus possessed him is kind of circumstantial, but you can’t really prove that sort of thing, you know?” You say after a long moment. “And given what I’ve seen with Oleana, and with his behavior now, I think - I think it really might not have been him who did that.”

Leon watches you carefully, then rakes one hand through his thick hair.

“I think it’s entirely possible that thing possessed him,” he says. “When that thing knocked me out, I had never before imagined that such power in one being was possible. I was so afraid for you and Hop…” he trails off for a moment, then shakes his head and returns to himself. “But you ended up pulling through fine! There’s no wonder you were able to become the Champion!” He pauses, growing more serious again. “Still, no one knows what Eternatus is really capable of, but we do know it has tremendous abilities, and that could certainly extend to possessing a person. But, even if it wasn’t really Rose who tried to bring about the Darkest Day…you should still be careful with him.”

“Careful with him?” You ask, a little taken aback. “Why?”

“He’s a complicated man with a lot of money and power,” Leon answers, choosing his words carefully. “I’m not implying that he’d do anything to hurt you. But I know him pretty well from years of working with him as Champion, and I think…anything that Rose did, anything that Eternatus convinced him to do, it succeeded by amplifying what was already there within Rose. He’s a man of many contradictions. He’s brilliant - one of the greatest geniuses of our times, even - but bloody reckless. Identifying consequences of his actions has never been his strong suit. He likes things to move fast. He’s kind and generous, but he loves praise, and he loves to be the center of attention, the hero of things. And he’s not above being outright selfish, either,” he adds. “I know this sounds really abstract, and I’m sure Rose is trying his best to be on good behavior right now, so it’s probably hard for you to understand. But I hope you see what I’m trying to say.”

“Lee, I’m listening, but I don’t know if I do entirely see what you’re trying to say,” you admit. Lee lets out a sigh, tipping his head towards the taxi window and thinking for a moment.

“I’m trying to say that while he’s probably not the super-villain all of Galar wants him to be right now, you shouldn’t put him on a pedestal, either,” Leon finally says. “A lot of people want to do that with Rose, and they’re just let down, in the end.”

You nod and think for a moment, turning so that your arm rests across the back of the taxi seat.

“Do you think Rose is a good person, overall?” You ask. Leon doesn’t hesitate.

“I think he has a heart of gold,” he answers. “But I think he’s at least a little in love with himself, and he only sees his flaws as strengths, which sometimes they can be - but they can be his downfall, too.”

“That’s all really good to know,” you admit. “I’ll be careful with him, Lee.”

“Good,” he sighs. “That brings me to my next question for you.”

“Shoot,” you say.

“If you’re starting to think that Eternatus could have possessed Rose, are you still going to go through with pressing charges on him?”

Oh Arceus. You can’t even remember the last time you’d thought about that.

“I, uh, actually kind of forgot about that,” you admit. “I’ve been so wrapped up in practice battles, exhibition battles, teaming up with Hop, and trying to get to the bottom of this thing…”

You leave out that you’d also been more than a little preoccupied recently with the way Rose had held you, and the way he’d described your embrace as soothing in his most recent letter.

“Probably a good idea to decide sooner rather than later,” Leon says, a knowing smile on his lips. You know you don’t have to explain yourself - he knows what a whirlwind keeping up with everything can be, especially as a new Champion. “I hear they’re moving forward with jury selection in Rose’s trials.”

“Right,” you say, then a beat later, add, “Honestly, I don’t see how I could follow through on the charges, if I think that Eternatus was the one behind his actions. But like I said earlier, there’s no way to really prove that, either.”

“No,” Leon muses. “There’s not. But remember, a jury will only convict if there is significant enough evidence that the person committed the crime, beyond the shadow of a doubt. If you still have that shadow, you don’t have to justify it to anyone else. You can do what you think is right for yourself. But,” Leon continues. “If, on the other hand, you see evidence that suggests that doubt can’t be reasonably entertained anymore, I hope you’ll make the right decision then, too.”

Your brows furrow.

“Like if Professor Magnolia has evidence that possessing people isn’t within Eternatus’ abilities,” you say slowly. “I understand, Leon.”

He nods.

“Remember, I’m here for you. We all are.”

And then the conversation shifts to lighter topics, including Leon’s story of his last time at one of Piers’ concerts, and you find yourself looking forward to the night ahead more than ever.


	13. Magnolia and Bede

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes are at the end of this chapter for once, for ~reasons~

You meet Professor Magnolia in Spikemuth’s Pokemon Center, and she greets you and each of your friends with a fond hug - though Sonia has to introduce Marnie, who hadn’t met the Professor before.

“Would it be best if we find something to do, and meet you back here in an hour or so?” Leon asks, touching your shoulder gently. You’re surprised - you thought, based on his emphasis of the team being behind you, that he’d want to sit in on the conversation. But it’s easier for you to imagine having this conversation with Magnolia alone.

“That would be great,” you agree.

“There’s a great clothing shop down the street,” Marnie suggests, with a hesitant look at Hop and Leon. Hop shrugs, easy-going, but Leon light up in delight.

“Sounds good to me!” He says, looking more enthusiastic about enjoying some retail therapy than Sonia, who’s giggling behind her hand. Marnie leads the new Professor and former Champion out, and you settle down in a seat in one of the Pokemon Center’s corners next to Professor Magnolia.

“So,” Magnolia starts. “Sonia says you have some questions for me about the Ultimate Pokemon.”

“Yes,” you agree. “Thank you for meeting me here.”

“Of course,” Magnolia says graciously. “Sonia has been such a fan of Piers’ for so long, and I hear the boy has quite a lot of talent. Plus, there were some things in Spikemuth I wanted to look into, so I’m quite glad to be here. Now, what do you want to know, my dear?”

“I know Eternatus is the source of the energy that lets us Dynamax in Galar, and the Wishing Stars are related to its power,” you start.

“Yes,” Magnolia confirms. “The Wishing Stars appear to be parts of Eternatus itself, which explains why they can imbue the power of Dynamaxing on users of Dynamax Bands.”

“Right,” you say. “So we know that Dynamaxing is a part of Eternatus’ abilities, but what else do we know about what it can do?”

“Oh, where to start,” Magnolia sighs, leaning back into her chair. “Not only can it help other Pokemon Dynamax through both the emission of Galar Particles and the presence of Wishing Stars, it can itself Eternamax, as we saw in your battle against it. It has nearly unlimited energy within its body, as far as we can tell, and based on yours and Hop’s report, that energy can be used in strange ways, including paralyzing Pokemon without using any moves.”

“Is it conceivable that that energy could be used in other ways?” You ask, leaning forward a little in your seat.

“Of course,” Magnolia agrees. “With nearly unlimited resources and ancient powers poorly understood, there are a variety of things it could do. What other ways, in particular, are you imagining, my dear?”

“I…I’m wondering if it could possess a person,” you say, your voice small and quiet. The idea somehow seems foolish as you say it to Magnolia, but there’s no backing out now. The Pokemon Professor thinks about your idea for a moment.

“A person such as Chairman Rose, you mean,” she clarifies. Damn. Between her and Sonia, it seemed perceptiveness runs in the family.

“Yes,” you admit feebly.

“This is something I’ve given quite a lot of thought to,” she admits. You’re a little surprised; you hadn’t even considered it before your first visit with Rose, when he had essentially poured his heart out to you, telling you everything. “Eternatus demonstrates quite a unique phenomenon. It has the ability to make visions appear in the air - initially, typically of the Galar region.”

“Yes,” you start. “I saw those. Hop, too.”

“I theorized initially that it was related to the core on its chest. That core allows it to absorb energy from the Galar region, with a preference for Galar particles over all other forms of energy. That appears to be part of what gives Eternatus its unnaturally long lifespan. It also, I believed, appeared to be related to the visions of Galar it produced.” Magnolia takes a deep breath. “But even when I introduced an excess of Galar particles in its proximity, it did not produce more visions. They remained relatively constant. The only thing that did produce more visions was switching Eternatus from storing energy to releasing energy. It released massive amounts at once, apparently warping space-time around it.” You wonder for a moment how, exactly, Magnolia was able to switch Eternatus over, but decide not to ask. You suspect you don’t want to know. “But the nature of the visions could also change, depending on who was looking at them. Individuals with more time around Eternatus - Rose, especially - began seeing different things than just Galar. And what each person who spent time around Eternatus reported seeing was different. On the other hand, employees of Macro Cosmos who had not spent time around Eternatus never saw anything other than the initial warping of space-time.”

Magnolia pauses, drumming her fingers on a table in thought.

“So what does that mean?” You ask, leaning forward.

“That, my dear, is a question that has been very hard for me to answer,” Magnolia sighs. “I thought originally that Eternatus likely had psychic abilities, to be able to affect individuals’ minds. But all my testing indicated that Eternatus was Dragon and Poison type. No Psychic typing whatsoever. My expert opinion - and it’s just that, dear, an opinion, because I can’t prove anything - is that Eternatus’ Poison typing, combined with its amazing amount of energy, allows it to affect people’s minds. It’s poison isn’t necessarily physical. It’s mental.”

You take a deep breath, nodding slowly. That makes sense.

“Professor Magnolia?” You ask, quietly. “Did you experience its poison on your mind, with all the time you spent around it?”

“I did,” Magnolia agrees solemnly, her voice also dropping.

“What did it do to you?” You ask. But Magnolia shakes her head, her lips pursing into a thin line.

“I’d rather not say,” is all she says.

  


* * *

  


When you and Magnolia are done talking, you text Marnie, and she brings the whole gang back to the Pokemon Center. 

“Nice hat,” you grin at Hop, who is proudly wearing his new purchase, a black beanie with the Team Yell logo on it.

“Figured it’d help me fit in a bit more at the show tonight,” he grins back. 

“Did you get anything, Sonia?” You ask. She shakes her head.

“I wanted to save my money for the official merch at Piers’ show,” she explains. 

“Wait - where’s Lee?” You ask, looking around for your predecessor. Surely, he couldn’t be so hopeless he’d gotten lost following Marnie, Sonia, and Hop down the street?

“Oh, he’s signing autographs,” Hop explains. That made more sense. “He’ll be in soon.”

And Leon is in soon. He’s impossible to miss, because he’s wearing his new purchase, too, which is a pair of extremely tight black skinny jeans decked out in studs and spikes.

“Arceus, Leon,” Hop sighs. “I can’t believe you bought those. Your Champion outfit with those leggings was bad enough.”

“You don’t like these?” Leon asks, genuinely surprised. “I think they’re fun.”

“I like them,” Marnie pipes up.

“Am I supposed to be wearing something like that to the show tonight?” Professor Magnolia asks, looking back and forth between Leon, Hop, and Marnie.

“No, Grandmum,” Sonia says firmly. “You’ll be fine the way you are.”

  


* * *

  


Seven o’clock and time to meet up with Bede rolls around astonishingly quickly. You’re not overly enthusiastic to see him, so you mosey over from the Pokemon Center towards Piers’ concert grounds at a slow amble. As you’re walking, you take in Spikemuth around you. You didn’t tend to spend a lot of time in here. It’s not the most beautiful of cities - though, part of you reminds yourself, that’s due mostly to Rose withholding funding from Spikemuth, owing to the lack of a Power Spot and Piers’ unwillingness to Dynamax his Pokemon. You’re reminded of Leon’s earlier discussion of Rose’s character, and can’t help but wonder whether the disrepair of this city was an intended or unintended consequence of Rose’s actions.

A lot of old posters and fliers paper Spikemuth’s buildings’ walls, you notice, with an awful lot of them proclaiming Piers’ latest concert (from four years ago) or a new round of Gym Challengers (from even further back). You eye them with a little bit of interest; it’s almost like the city is its own museum.

And then, out of the corner of your eye, you see it - a familiar smiling face.

Rose.

He looks younger in the poster - probably around your age, actually. Macro Cosmos had to be just taking off, and he had to be the new young millionaire CEO of the company, a star rising to the top of the Galar region. His hair is cut in the same sidecut, though his forelock is kept quite a bit shorter, you note. His beard is a less full, less finished style than he has it now; it’s just a thin line of hair along the edge of his jaw, with no mustache and no hair under his bottom lip. The suit he wears is just a plain black suit - not the flashy, steely gray he prefers now - and it fits his body well. He wears the suitcoat closed, not open and revealing the waistcoat underneath as he does now, and you can see by the way it fits him that he’s more slender than he is now; there’s no soft swell to his belly or chest. The photographer has done an excellent job capturing him. His head is tilted just a little, one arm crossed magnanimously across his chest while he balances a Pokeball in his other hand. But most of all, the kindness of his green eyes shines through, and his smile is absolutely heartbreakingly gorgeous. He looks so beautiful, it’s hard to believe that this is a poster for the new Macro Cosmos corp and not an advert for the latest boy band.

You feel more than a little giddy to be seeing this man, one-on-one, in just a couple days. He’s still as gorgeous as he was back then, you think; he’s aged like a fine wine. Then you decide it’d be fun to show him this poster - and, really, you wouldn’t mind being able to look at it again yourself, either. You pull out your phone, open the camera, and grab a picture of the poster.

“Arceus, you’re pathetic, you know that?”

You’d know that voice anywhere. Despite an overwhelming feeling of being guilty, caught in the act, you fight back the urge to stuff your phone away, lowering it slowly and turning towards Bede.

“Nice to see you, too,” you say. Bede, decked out in more pink than Spikemuth’s probably seen on one person in a half-century, rolls his eyes.

“You’re such a sucker, you’ve probably fallen for everything Rose has said, hook, line, and sinker,” he continues, as if you hadn’t said anything.

“What would you know about anything he’s said to me?” You challenge him. 

“I know Rose,” he answers. “Probably better than almost anyone, after nearly two decades of what I called friendship. He’s only happy in life when he’s playing either the role of the messiah or the victim. And he can’t be the messiah right now, so I’m sure he’s pulling at your heartstrings as some kind of victim.”

You stay silent at this, turning back towards the poster of Rose on the wall. You hate to admit it, but there is something a little…self-serving about his pose. As if he does want the viewer to look at him, and think, _what a hero._

“It’s okay,” Bede says, almost kindly, but his voice is just a little too snide to pass as gentle. “You don’t have to admit to me if he is. It was really hard for me to admit, in the shit-storm that was the press coverage after that whole mural thing, when Rose disqualified me as a Challenger. Everything had to be about how poor Rose was devastated by my decisions. Nobody cared that I was devastated, too.” Bede takes a deep breath, then lets it out. “Look, Rose’s whole life has been crafted around PR and money. He’ll use you while he can, and then when he’s done with you, it’ll be over, and he’ll still be catapulting to the top while you’re ground into the dirt.”

“Why are you telling me this?” You ask. It’s not that Bede can possibly care about you.

“Because, as the Champion, you’ll be in just the right spot for Rose to use you to recover his image,” Bede explains patiently and slowly, as if to a child. “I didn’t lose to you over and over just to see him fuck up your reputation. If I can’t beat you, you’re gonna stay the paragon of excellence in Galar.”

Well. That’s as close to caring about anything related to your life as Bede’s ever gotten. 

“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Bede,” you say, a smile on your lips, though your heart is sinking quickly. You hate that there’s some truth to what Bede is saying.

“Whatever,” Bede says, but you can see he’s blushing a little. He starts walking away quickly, looking over his shoulder to see if you were going to follow, and you fall in step with him, walking apparently nowhere in particular, turning down a side road. “Look, I know you might think I’m just nursing a grudge,” he says after a moment. “And I know you can still go and visit Rose, and do whatever you want with your life and all that. But I’m warning you to be careful with him. And I’m also warning you that if he drags you down, I’m challenging you to another battle, because I’m not letting Galar think that I’m more pathetic than you.”

“You have really weird logic sometimes,” you sigh. “Y’know, since you and all of Galar know that I’ve visited Rose…you might as well know that Rose said he was really, really sorry for that day that he forgot you. He said he wasn’t himself. Literally.” You pause, not sure you want to go further than that. It’s easy and safe to tell your friends the whole truth. But you’re not convinced that Bede isn’t nursing a grudge against Rose, and you don’t want to see what will happen if you’re right.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bede asks, scrunching up his face.

“I’m not entirely sure yet,” you answer, and it’s at least half-true. “I’m looking into it. But, Bede, he was so sorry about it, he cried about it. Like, a lot.”

It’s Bede’s turn to stay silent this time - probably the first time you’ve ever seen him speechless. 

“Whatever,” he says finally, but his voice is quieter than you’ve probably ever heard it. You can’t help but think to yourself that maybe he wasn’t as bad as you thought he was. He’d been through a lot - from a young age - and he hadn’t had many people to help him in life. And then to lose the one person he thought he had on his side…

Besides, you’re not convinced there isn’t a softer, friendlier side somewhere under all that. Maybe you just had to be a little nicer to him to find it.

“Are you coming to Piers’ show tonight?” You ask after a long silence. “Doors open soon.”

“I don’t want a pity invite,” Bede scowls at you.

“Good, because you haven’t gotten one,” you answer, folding your arms across your chest and stopping in place. Bede stops walking, too, turning to stare you in the eye, and you meet his gaze unflinchingly.

“Sure, then,” he says when he’s convinced. 

“Perfect,” you beam. “I’m pretty sure if we just go this way, we’ll get to Piers’ concert grounds,” you add, beginning to turn down a side street. You’re not bad with directions like Leon is, but you’re just not entirely sure of where you are in Spikemuth - you’d really only ever stuck to the main street in Spikemuth before, but surely, this road has to lead back to it somehow.

“You really are pathetic,” he sighs, sounding exasperated as he grabs your arm and tugs you in a different direction. “It’s this way.” But as he pulls you along, you note that there’s just a ghost of a smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY WHO ELSE NOTICED THAT POSTER OF YOUNG ROSE IN SPIKEMUTH IN-GAME? IT IS GORGEOUS. HE IS GORGEOUS.
> 
> Edited to add a link to all posters of Rose in Spikemuth for everyone interested so y'all don't have to go boot up your Switch to see this young hunk - you've probably gotta copy and paste this into your browser tho: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EK_K7D_U4AEQsfN?format=jpg&name=large


	14. The Fourth Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIME FOR ANOTHER VISIT ENJOY SOME FEELS<33

When you wake up the next day, your ears are still ringing a little from the concert. It had been good - Piers was better than you had remembered, though you figure at least part of that has to do with the fact that you were a little preoccupied with fighting him as a Gym Challenger during the last concert of his that you’d been to. And, moreover, everyone had really seemed to enjoy themselves. Sonia had gotten a Piers shirt as she’d wanted. Professor Magnolia had lingered towards the back, and you’d been worried at first that she had wished she’d stayed home, but then you’d seen her tapping her foot appreciatively and saying something to Sonia about the music. Marnie had convinced Bede to try the mosh pit - you were worried at first that Bede would get the crap kicked out of him for being so pink, but he ended up loving it and becoming a bit of a phenomenon. And Hop had dragged you to the front of the crowd. There wasn’t much better than singing along at the top of your lungs, jumping, and dancing with your best friend. 

While you had been a little sorry at the time that you hadn’t been able to bring a 6-pack to share like Marnie had subtly requested, you aren’t sorry now, because you’re headache-free this morning. You’re too excited to be visiting Rose to want to manage a hangover, too. 

Though it you’re honest with yourself, while you’re mostly excited, there’s a bit of hesitation in you, too. The more you had thought about it, the more both Leon and Bede’s comments on Rose seemed to corroborate each other. The main difference, of course, being that Leon still seemed to think mostly fondly of Rose, having never truly been tossed aside, the way Bede had. After all, Leon had been useful to Rose until the end, while Bede hadn’t. And it nags at you, too, that Bede had been right that Rose would fall into the role of victim in the wake of the Darkest Day - although he was really the victim this time, wasn’t he? He hadn’t asked to be hurt in that other prison, and the thought of him, beaten and bloodied and sobbing, still tears at your heart, creating the inexplicable urge to protect him, when you think back on it. And while Rose could never prove conclusively that Eternatus had poisoned him, manipulated him into doing things he would never do otherwise, you could see the fear and pain in his eyes as he spoke about it. Professor Magnolia and Oleana had both experienced it to some degree, too, so you feel certain he really had been victimized; there was nothing to play up here, just the cold, hard truth of a brutal situation. 

But it worries you all the same. Will Rose somehow re-start his upward climb, desperate on returning to his former status as the hero, the savior of Galar? And if he fumbles on his way, will he do as Bede had suggested he would and step on you in order to make it back to the top? 

The idea that Rose can’t be fully trusted, despite all the kindness, all the gentlemanly behavior he’s shown you, makes you nervous. Because deep down, you know you don’t really know him yet. Not the way Leon or Bede know him. 

Still, you can’t help but spend more time than usual picking out your outfit, hoping that it’s something that Rose will like on you. 

The other good thing about the concert was that somehow, the music had helped to clear your mind, and you’d made a decision about whether or not you were going to go through with pressing charges against Rose. You’d realized that this decision had to be made independently of your newfound anxieties about Rose - it had to be made based on the evidence you’d gathered so far, and, like Leon had said, based on whether there was significant doubt about Rose’s actions and whether he was the one who had truly carried them out. 

You’d had a chance to talk to Professor Magnolia and your friends (minus Bede, who had left as soon as the concert was over) about your decision after the show, and just talking to them and sharing your plans made you much more lighthearted and hopeful about the future. It’s this, more than anything, that lets you know that you’ve made the right decision for yourself.   


* * *

  


You’re feeling more confident this time, knowing what to expect as you’re led to the fancy in-person visitation room, your jacket slung over your arm. Even so, you feel your heart beat just a tiny bit quicker as you realize you’re steps away from seeing Rose again. It’s surprising, you think, that while a couple weeks ago that increase in your pulse would have been from dread and nervousness, now it’s from an almost giddy feeling. 

The security guard opens the room in front of you, and this time, you’re surprised to see Rose has already been brought into the room. He’s sitting on the overstuffed leather couch, and he turns toward you as soon as he hears the door open. He’s wearing a black turtleneck sweater - he must have earned the right to wear something other than orange, you figure - and another pair of expensive-looking jeans. He’s also got all his accessories back - the little earring in his left ear, the gold watch on his left wrist, the belt with the hexagon-shaped buckle. You hadn’t even realized these small personal effects were all missing on him previously until seeing him with them again. 

Rose rises to his feet as soon as he sees you, calling your name with a soft smile. 

“Rose,” you answer a little breathlessly, a smile spreading your face in return. 

“Champion,” the security guard nods to you, then turns to Rose and nods to him. “Mr. Rose.” And he ducks out through the door you’d just entered through. 

“Please, let me take your jacket for you,” Rose says, crossing over to you, still smiling. 

“Thank you,” you say, passing your jacket to him. “You look so much better,” you note, taking a close look at his eye while he’s close to you. There’s no longer even a haze of a bruise around his eye or nose - he looks as good as new. Rose turns from you to hang up your jacket on the gold coathanger, but he flashes you a smile over his shoulder at your words. 

“I’ve been pronounced completely healed,” he confirms. “And it’s all thanks to you.” He turns back to you, placing one large hand affectionately on your shoulder. “It’s so good to see you,” he adds softly, his green eyes sparkling with warmth and kindness. 

“It’s really good to see you, too, Rose,” you breathe, and again, you’re not entirely sure who moves first - you or him, or both together - but the next thing you know, you’re in each other’s arms, holding one another tightly. Feeling particularly bold, you bury your face in Rose’s shoulder. 

“Mm,” Rose sighs contentedly, and you feel him shift against you just enough to bury his face in your hair, one of his hands coming up again to caress the back of your head. Hugging him is as wonderful as you’d remembered, you think. His broad shoulders, his strength, the softness of his belly against you… 

But it’s not long before the time to end the embrace draws near, and you and Rose pull away from one another slowly. 

“Would you like to come sit down?” Rose asks, one of his arms still around your waist. 

“That would be great,” you agree, letting your hands settle on his shoulders. Rose seems to like this, you think, as he stands just a little taller and prouder. Though, of course, this also reminds you of what Leon and Bede had said about him… “I’ve got a lot to talk to you about.” 

“Is that right?” Rose asks, pulling the rest of the way away from you and moving towards the couch. 

“Yeah,” you agree, flopping down in the center of the couch. Rose sits down next to you, and you curl up a little on the couch, tucking your legs under you and turning to face him just a little. Best to start with the good stuff, you figure. “I got to talk to Professor Magnolia last night.” 

“Really?” Rose asks with interest, crossing his legs and turning towards you, a little, too. The way the two of you are angled, your knee is touching his thigh - though you don’t mind, and he makes no effort to pull away. 

“Yeah,” you answer. “She had a lot to say about Eternatus. She did experience the visions of Galar at first, like all of us, but thought they were connected to the energy particles coming back from Galar somehow. She did some experiments that seemed to prove that wrong, though, including switching Eternatus from storing energy to discharging energy, which increased the visions. And she said that the longer people were around Eternatus, the more those visions seemed to change. She thought that maybe Eternatus was Psychic-type, so she did another round of tests, but found it was Dragon and Poison type. So her ultimate theory is that Eternatus’ Poison type isn’t just a physical poison - when combined with its capacity for energy manipulation, it’s a poison of the mind.” 

“Fascinating,” Rose murmurs, crossing one arm over his chest and letting the other hand drift up to his lips. The position reminds you a little of the poster you’d seen last night. “I had been sure it would have been Psychic-type. I had been the one who asked her to run those tests - but then, I ended up a little…sidetracked and never heard the end result.” 

“The other thing she said that was really interesting,” you add, “was that she admitted that Eternatus tried to manipulate her, too. Made her see things and think things. But she didn’t want to say what. It seemed…really painful for her to remember.” 

“It’s scary to reflect on a time when you weren’t entirely in control of yourself or your thoughts,” Rose agrees quietly, turning away from you and looking distantly at the fountain on the opposite side of the wall. For possibly the first time, it strikes you that Rose is the only one who’s openly discussed what, exactly, Eternatus had made him think, made him feel. It must take, you think, a significant amount of mental fortitude. 

“I can only imagine,” you murmur. A long moment of silence stretches out between the two of you. “Anyway,” you say, breaking the silence. “I thought a lot about what Professor Magnolia said, and how it seemed to be a poisoning of the mind. And I thought, too, about how Oleana said that she felt that Eternatus had taken what was already inside her and just amplified it or twisted it, until she was bent to its will. I think that a possession would have allowed Eternatus to do whatever it wanted. But a poisoning would do just what Oleana described.” 

Rose nods slowly, but stays silent, fingers playing idly with the hair just under his bottom lip. 

“So after thinking about it a lot, and about how much evidence there was, and how even Professor Magnolia believed that you had been poisoned, I’ve decided that I really believe you, too,” you continue. “So I’ve called my lawyer and withdrawn all my charges against you.” 

Rose sucks in a deep breath, hand falling away from his face as he turns to face you again. 

“You have?” He asks, clearly shocked. 

“I have,” you agree, a small smile playing across your lips. “And after I told them everything, Hop and Leon have dropped their charges, too. And we’ve all agreed that if your lawyer thinks it would be helpful, we’ll testify for you, as well. Professor Magnolia said she would, too.” 

Rose stares at you for a moment before turning back to the fountain, that distant look in his eyes again. Then he stands and walks over slowly toward the fountain, arms clasped behind his back. You decide to give him a moment to process everything in silence. 

But when you look at him closely, you see his shoulders trembling in quiet sobs. 

“Rose,” you call to him, standing and moving to his side. You stop just a little short of him, reaching out and putting your hand tentatively on his shoulder. Rose turns his head to you just a little, one of his hands moving from behind his back to press to his forehead and cover his eyes, but you have a clear enough view of his face to see that tears are streaming down his cheeks. You wrap an arm across his broad shoulders, touching your other hand to his chest gently. You’re not sure if he wants you to hold him right now, but you want him to know you’re there. 

Rose takes your invitation, though, turning towards you and pulling you into him. He melts against you, slumping just enough to allow him to bury his nose in the crook of your neck. His tears are hot against the skin of your neck and shoulder, and his shoulders continue to heave silently, but he doesn’t sob out loud. You tip your head so your cheek rests against his head, and let one of your hands rise up to caress the back of his head, the way he did with you. Your fingers play with the surprisingly soft shaved part of his undercut, then work gently into the thick, dark locks he kept longer. Gradually, Rose calms down in your arms, but you continue to hold him tightly, stroking his hair. 

“Now it’s my turn to promise you I don’t usually cry this much,” Rose mumbles into your neck, and you feel the brush of his lips against your skin, sending a shiver down your spine. Then he goes to pull away again, and he straightens up until he’s just a little taller than you once more, quickly wiping at the remnants of the tears in his eyes. He lets out a quiet laugh, and you smile gently up at him. 

“Are you going to be okay?” You ask. Rose smiles at you and wraps both of his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him once more. 

“I am,” he says warmly, and you slide your arms loosely around his neck. “This makes the third time you’ve come to my rescue and saved my world, you know,” he murmurs. “To go from having charges pressed against me to having you all on my side as I defend against the region’s district attorney…I can’t even imagine the difference that will make in my life going forward.” 

“Whatever difference it makes, Rose, you deserve it,” you say. 

“How will I ever repay you?” Rose sighs, his soft smile replaced by a solemn look as he shakes his head. 

“You don’t have to,” you answer simply. But Rose shakes his head again, pursing his lips just a little. 

“You don’t understand,” he sighs. “At first, I thought it was Leon who was going to be my knight in shining armor to save me - save Galar - from Eternatus. But it was you, you who saved me and saved Galar, even at the cost of great personal and mental harm to yourself. Then again, when I was in the last facility, battered and afraid - there was no need for you to have helped me, no reason why you should have offered me your assistance, much less your kindness and friendship, when I’d done so much to hurt you. You’ve been one of the only friends I’ve had in the past couple weeks, you know. Hardly anyone else has come to see me or write to me. I’m out of good graces in my business circles and in the Pokemon League, and nearly nobody in their right mind would want to be affiliated with me any longer. And certainly nearly nobody else would have listened to me about Eternatus, unless they had experienced it themselves. I know your investigation was for yourself as much as for me - but then to show me such kindness again, and not only drop your charges, but convince your friends, and offer to testify on my behalf…you’ve swept in as my savior yet again. I can see a chance at freedom someday, and not just a life spent in one house, always watched. You have no idea how much that means to me. You’ve been so selfless and so heroic,” he sighs. “You have constantly amazed me. And I don’t think you have any idea how much I would give you to try to repay you for even a fraction of your kindness.” 

You pause and look at Rose for a long moment - really look at him. The things Leon and Bede had told you about him could very well be true, you decide. It’s entirely possible that Rose can’t see his own flaws, rushes into things recklessly, and built his previous life around PR, frequently either playing the victim or the hero. But his life is different now, and you have a choice to make - you have to decide if you’re either going to trust Rose to be good to you, whether or not you’re useful to him, or if you’re going to close yourself off to him because of the risk that he’ll drag you down in an effort to re-start his climb back up to the top. 

“Rose, your friendship is more than enough,” you finally say. “You don’t have to give me things. Just keep being kind and caring to me. That’s all I ask. And let’s stay friends even after all this is over.” 

Rose stares at you, an unreadable expression on his face. Then the hands around your waist tighten, and he pulls you in, pressing his lips to your forehead. 

As he pulls away, the door to his side of the complex opens up, and a waiter bustles in with another heavy platter, maneuvering around the two of you to set it down on the elegant coffee table. 

“I, ah, ordered some more refreshments for us,” he says, a light blush dusting his cheeks, though you’re not sure if it’s from the kiss or his nervousness that you would approve of another expensive platter. As for yourself, your cheeks feel warm enough that you’re sure you’re blushing, too - and your blush is definitely from his kiss. 

“You’re too sweet,” you smile, one of your hands moving from his shoulders to touch his cheek gently. Rose smiles back at you, encouraged. 

“Shall we go dig in?” He asks. 

“Let’s,” you agree, sliding out of his arms and moving back to settle on the couch. Rose moves to settle down close to you, his thigh brushing against yours. He’s ordered another charcuterie platter, this one again loaded with grapes, cheeses, and meats, plus some crackers and bread this time. But not only does it come with a pitcher of water - this time, it comes with a large bottle of red wine. 

“I hope you don’t find me too presumptuous, but I remembered how much you liked those grapes, so I ordered one of my favorite moscatos for you to try,” he explains. “But I suppose I should have asked first, do you like wine?” 

“I do,” you agree, more than a little flattered he had remembered the offer he’d made to you during your last visit. 

“What kinds do you enjoy?” Rose asks, grabbing the bottle opener and beginning to twist it into the cork. 

“Usually, the bargain basement deal kinds,” you laugh. Rose laughs too, turning towards you, his eyes sparkling. You realize that you’ve just made a joke around Rose for the first time ever. 

“I remember those days,” Rose grins. It’s a little hard to imagine Rose ever had to shop at a bargain basement for his alcohol, though you’re beginning to put together more of a picture of who Rose had been. Still smiling, he continues, “you could sometimes find the grossest or the best stuff on sale.” 

“For real,” you grin back. “So, this is a moscato wine made from those grapes I liked?” 

“Yes,” Rose agrees, pushing down on the levers of the bottle opener, lifting the cork out with a pop. “This moscato is from Aquacorde Vintage from the South of Kalos. They grow their grapes on this lovely sunny hill, by one of the many waterways of the city, and they’re entirely organically raised and hand picked.” 

You laugh a little at this; whatever you’d expected during today’s visit, it hadn’t been to discover that Rose could sound so snobbish about wine. 

“What’s funny?” Rose asks, pouring one curved glass full of rich, red liquid. You freeze for a moment - you don’t want to directly tell Rose he’s being a wine snob, especially when he’s bought you a bottle probably more expensive than anything you’ll ever have again in your lifetime. So you decide to try to keep sticking with humor instead. 

“They also wash each grape individually, and pluck any Bug-type Pokemon off them by hand, and sing to them to help them grow, I’m sure,” you grin. 

“Uh, pardon?” Rose says, and for a moment, you worry your joke’s fallen flat. “I didn’t hear you mention how they only water the grapes under the full moon.” For a moment, you’re speechless - but then it strikes you that he’s being sassy back to you, and the two of you break into grins together. 

“How could I have forgotten?” You giggle as Rose finishes pouring the second glass. You’d heard his sassy side only once before - when you were in the power plant with him, telling him you planned to stop the Darkest Day. You’re a little surprised to notice that thinking back on the Darkest Day, even with Rose this close to you, doesn’t feel all that difficult anymore. Rose hands you the glass he’s just poured, pulling you out of your thoughts, then lifts the first one in his own hand. 

“I hope you like it,” he says earnestly, then goes to bring it to his lips. Before he takes the first sip, though, he pauses, and lowers his glass. “May I make a toast?” He asks. 

You smile a little, intrigued. 

“Sure,” you agree. 

“To second chances, kindness, forgiveness,” he says, looking deeply into your eyes as he raises his glass. “And to new relationships.” 

“To new relationships,” you echo him, touching your glass to his, producing a little clinking sound. Rose raises his glass to his lips again, taking a first sip, and you do the same, musing on his choice of words - it seemed interesting, somehow, that he’d used the term relationships instead of friendships. But then, you think, maybe you’re trying to read too much into things, hoping against hope and against your own good sense that there could be something more between the two of you. 

As you take your first sip, you realize that whatever wine you had thought was good, was actually garbage. There’s nothing you’ve ever tasted that’s as good as this. It’s rich, sweet, sunny, smooth, and so fragrant…it’s as if the process of turning those grapes into this wine took everything good about them, and amplified it. 

“What do you think?” Rose asks, watching you carefully. 

“It’s amazing,” you gush. “I never even imagined that there could be wine that tastes as good as this. This puts everything I’ve ever had to shame.” 

“I’m glad you like it,” Rose smiles. 

“I love it,” you agree, taking another sip, then add, a little shyly, “I can’t even imagine how much this costs.” 

“I don’t want you to worry about that,” Rose says, with a small wave of his free hand. “Please, just enjoy it. And have some food, too, if you’d like,” he offers, again handing you a small china plate. You take it from him, taking another quick sip of wine before setting the glass down and beginning to pick from the charcuterie. 

As you grab delicious morsels, you consider telling Rose you’d seen Bede yesterday, too - but somehow, it feels like an invasion of Bede’s hard-won privacy to talk to Rose about him. 

“Were you able to get Oleana moved somewhere safer than the mines?” You ask, remembering that you had been curious, even worried about her, truthfully, but you’d consistently forgotten to bring it up in your letters. 

“I was,” Rose agrees with a small smile. “Thank you for asking about her.” 

“Of course,” you respond. A long moment of silence stretches out between you as you continue with a couple more selections. “Leon says they’re currently going through jury selection for your trial,” you offer instead, pulling back and leaning more into the couch when you’re finished with taking your first round of food. 

“I’ve heard,” Rose agrees, taking a sip of wine before continuing. “I’ve also heard that it’s proving to be more than a little difficult to find arbitrary jurors in my case.” He sets his glass down, and takes a small plate for himself, beginning to fill it up. 

“Will that mean they’ll have to select again?” You ask. 

“It’s quite possible,” Rose agrees. “The trial is slated to start next week, and if they can’t fill a jury by then, we’ll have to delay it.” 

“Which would you prefer?” You ask, beginning to pick at the food on your plate. “That it start sooner or later?” 

“Sooner,” Rose says emphatically, with no hesitation. You’re reminded of what Leon had said about how he likes things to move fast, as well as a conversation with Oleana months ago in the same vein. “I want to get this over with, and know, one way or the other, what my fate will be.” 

“That’s understandable,” you nod. Rose starts to eat in silence, then turns to you, pressing his leg into yours just a little more. 

“If…we try everything, and the district attorney still convicts me on charges of crimes against Galar, will you still come to visit me here?” He asks slowly. 

“They won’t convict you,” you answer ardently, but Rose only sighs in response. 

“But if they do,” he prompts, looking as serious as you’ve ever seen him. 

“I’ll visit you as often as I can, Rose, for however long it takes,” you promise. “And I’ll keep writing to you in between visits, too.” 

“Thank you,” Rose smiles softly, his anxieties apparently at least quelled for the moment. “It helps, to hear you say that. More than you know. But you’ve reminded me,” he continues, shifting his hips so he can fish in his jeans pocket for something. “I’ve earned the right to have my phone while I’m here,” he explains, finally finding it and pulling it out. “I do really enjoy writing letters to you, but wondered if you would want to exchange numbers, too? It would be nice to be able to text you, or - well, maybe even call you?” 

“I’d really like that, Rose,” you agree with a smile back to him, pulling your phone out of your pocket, too. “Here, let’s trade phones and enter ourselves as contacts.” You quickly swipe your phone unlocked and pull up the new contacts page, while Rose does the same with his. You hand your phone to him and take his in return - his is a little larger than yours, you note, but otherwise similar enough. You type yourself in, making a couple mistakes on the unfamiliar keyboard, but you fix them quickly and then save yourself into his phone. Rose is done around the time you are, and you swap phones again, so they’re back with their original owners. You look at your phone only long enough to make sure Rose’s contact info is saved - which it is - then put it away in your pocket again. 

“It’ll be really nice to be able to talk with you more in real-time,” Rose beams as he puts his phone away, too. 

“I agree,” you smile, then grab your wine glass and take a long sip from it, savoring the flavor. The thought that you and Rose would likely soon be navigating the transition of your newfound relationship - was it only a friendship, or could it be more? - from the confines of this luxurious prison to the real world makes you a little nervous. You’re growing to genuinely care for him and enjoy spending time with him; you can only hope that he feels the same way, and that together, your bond is enough to endure the hustle and pressures of the world outside. It’s surprising to think that Rose could be a free man in little more than a week. Suddenly curious, you ask, “Rose, when you get out of here, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?” 

“If,” Rose corrects you with a slightly rueful smile. “If I get out of here. Though I appreciate your optimism. This is something I’ve actually thought quite a lot about, though before today I thought it was perhaps more a fantasy than a possibility. But, well, the one thing I keep coming back to is that the Hammerlocke Power Plant still has a significant amount of Eternatus’ energy stored within its capacitors. I’ve taken these capacitors and disconnected them from the grid entirely, so their sole purpose is to continue to store supermassive amounts of that energy. I intend to immediately study the energy within those disconnected capacitors, and see what makes it so unique. Is it composed of Galar particles? If so, are they in their original form, or have they phase shifted somehow? Can we manipulate this energy in any way with the Wishing Stars? And, ultimately, can we re-create a reactor to artificially generate this type of energy at a significantly more economical and efficient rate than with traditional energy forms? The possibilities to benefit Galar are tremendous,” he says, turning to you with a brilliant smile lighting up his handsome features. He sounds truly eager about his plan, and he’s so charismatic, you find yourself half-wanting to see this project help Galar, and wishing you could do something, anything to help him see this dream to fruition. 

But the other half of your mind is screaming that this is the worst idea possible.


	15. The Fourth Visit, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOLLOW UP TO THE CLIFFHANGER FROM LAST CHAPTER

“Rose, that sounds really nice,” you smile slightly, but you can hear the hesitation within your own voice. “But do you really think the best thing for you to be doing right after you’re cleared of crimes against Galar for trying to summon the Darkest Day is to turn right around and experiment with supermassive amounts of Eternatus’ energy?” 

“If I’m released, my name is cleared,” Rose shrugs. “I’ve got potentially the most valuable natural resource humanity will ever see within my possession. I’m sure you can see the opportunity I’m presented with.” 

You stare at Rose, jaw hanging open a little. Are you really hearing what you think you’re hearing right now? 

“You can’t be serious,” you say. “I would have thought you’d be more careful with things you don’t understand.” 

“Uh, pardon?” Rose says, but this time it’s not in the fun-sassy way he’d said it earlier; this sounds nearly identical in tone to when he was telling you it’d be impossible to stop the Darkest Day. “I’m the one who can’t be serious? I can make up for all my errors and benefit Galar for generations to come, and you’re telling me that’s not something you think is a good idea?” 

“That’s not what I’m saying, Rose,” you answer, feeling a lump rising frantically in your throat. So Bede had been right. He would start an upward climb back to the position of the hero of Galar, because it was in his nature to need that position, consequences be damned. And this is how he’d do it. “I think it’s something you can do, someday. I think you could go down in history for it, and I want to help you make that happen.” It’s the truth, you realize as you say the words. You’re not just saying them for Rose’s ego - you do believe in him, in his ability to benefit all of humanity. But he needs to do better than last time. “But don’t you see the parallels between this and the Darkest Day? Can’t you see that experimenting with something you don’t fully understand could lead to a repeat of that situation?” 

Rose’s face softens at your words. 

“I know, from your perspective, that this must sound frightening, as if I’m ensuring a second crisis awaits us on the horizon. But, my dear, the whole point of the work I plan to do,” he continues, touching his fingertips to your thigh, not too high, but not too low, either, “is that I need to come to understand this force. I need to study it first, before we can do great things with it. And I’d like to do those great things together, with you.” When you don’t pull your thigh away, he flattens his hand against your leg, sliding it just a little towards the inside. It’s an almost suggestive move, but you’re too busy thinking about your next words to notice it. 

“We will do them together,” you promise him, pressing your hand over his, earning a smile from Rose. 

“Then, it’s settled,” he begins, but you shake your head. 

“Rose, before you study this energy, you need what you didn’t have on the Darkest Day. Before you even start studying this phenomenon, you need systematic fail-safes, and fail-safes for your fail-safes, and possibly even a third line of defense. And no,” you add with a small smile, “Leon doesn’t count as a fail-safe, and neither do I, because I wasn’t even planned.” 

Rose chuckles a little at this. Encouraged, you continue, 

“I know it’ll take time to set this up, and a lot of money, and you’ll have to consult with a lot of experts. But weren’t you the one who told me once that there was no cost too high to keep the people of Galar - including me - safe? And if anything goes wrong, and you lose everything you’ve worked so hard to build and reclaim, or worse - if something happens to you - I…” you trail off, then try again. “Do you know how close you were to being crushed to death in that power plant?” 

Rose’s brow furrows, and he turns his hand over, so that you’re palm to palm. He’s not quite holding your hand, but it’s close. 

“No,” he admits. 

“I - don’t think I can even talk about it now,” you say, feeling the lump in your throat grow at the thought of Rose, trapped under tons of concrete, crumbled by the force of the moves of uncontrollable Dynamaxed Pokemon. And you, arriving too late to help him. 

You hope you’re not too late to help him this time. You hope this idea doesn’t have such a firm hold on him that you can’t break him free. 

“I had no idea,” Rose sighs, finally twining his fingers with yours. His hand is broad, reassuring, in yours. “There are a lot of things I have no idea about, it turns out. How to avoid repeating my mistakes might be one of them.” 

“I think that’s one of the hardest things for anyone,” you offer, tentatively hopeful. “That’s why it’s important to have people in your life who can help you see how to do better the next time, even when you can’t see it for yourself.” 

A wry smile flits across Rose’s face. 

“That is important,” he agrees. “You know, you’re the first person in - well, years, since I started Macro Cosmos, really - who’s disagreed with me to my face on anything. Besides Piers, I guess, but disagreeing with people is in his nature,” he says with a little laugh. 

“I’m sure Oleana has disagreed with you on things,” you protest. 

“Oleana isn’t afraid to tell me if I’m acting out of the ordinary, or if I’m late to a meeting,” he says, then shrugs. “But she believes wholly in my vision for Macro Cosmos - perhaps to a fault. She’s never disagreed with me, out loud at least, on a single thing.” 

“Wow,” is all you can think to say. If that’s true, you think, Rose must have had years - if not a whole decade or more - of a relative monopoly on Galar with essentially his decisions running the region… and with overall remarkable success, too. It’s not hard to imagine how that could impact a person’s view of themselves, make them view themselves as infallible. A messiah, even, as Bede had said. 

“I’ve forgotten how valuable a second perspective is,” he says, pulling you in with his free hand and pressing another kiss to your forehead. “I’ll think about what you’ve said,” he murmurs, his lips hot against your skin, before pulling away. 

Well. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly a start. At least you have a chance to get through to him and stop him from making the second worst decision of his life. But you can’t help but admit that you’re more than a little devastated to see that what your friends had told you about Rose’s worst qualities is true. You’re terrified for your future - if Bede was right, Rose would gladly use you, destroying your career and reputation in the process. And you know, too, that Leon had been right - it is all too easy to put Rose up on a pedestal, to idolize him. 

But now you have to do something much harder - you have to trust that he can better than he has been. That he won’t hurt you on purpose. And, you realize, this is a decision that you’re going to have to make over and over again in the coming days, not just once. 

“Please do think about it,” you breathe, giving his hand a squeeze in yours, trying your best to push those thoughts aside. You could deal with them later; what’s important, you know, is staying connected to Rose, here and now. “And please remember, Rose, anytime you need a second perspective, I’ll be here for you.” 

“And anytime you want to talk about things, I’m here for you, too,” Rose promises, giving your hand a squeeze before pulling it away, too. “Now, let’s enjoy a little more of this wine before our visit is over.” 

“That sounds great,” you agree, picking up your glass and sipping at it. Rose does the same, then sets down his glass and picks up his china plate. 

“Might as well enjoy some more of the food, too,” he adds, picking a few more selections and loading his plate up again. “Not that I need it, though,” he laughs, sitting back and patting the soft swell of his belly. “I really should be trying to lose weight while I’m in here.” 

“Don’t be silly,” you say, picking up your plate and adding a couple of your favorite things back onto it. You’re surprised to find that the ease of talking to Rose has already returned. “Dad bod is super in right now.” 

“Is that right? Dad bod is in?” Rose laughs, trying a piece of cheese, a playful light in his eyes. 

“Yeah, it is,” you answer, trying not to blush and looking down to a mystery Berry, probably from another region, like it’s the most fascinating thing you’ve ever seen. “Everyone’s going nuts over celebrities with just a little bit of chub right now.” 

“Is that right,” Rose muses, repeating himself. “But, you know, I don’t care so much what everyone thinks. What about you? Do you like a man with some chub?” He asks, and you can feel your cheeks heating up. You’re definitely blushing now. 

“Oh, I, uh - yeah, I definitely do,” you agree, managing to summon up the bravery to look at him despite yourself. There’s still a playful light in his eyes, a soft smile on his lips, but there’s a little seriousness under it, too. 

“Well,” Rose says, clearly satisfied. “Then I won’t worry so much about losing this, hm?” He pats his stomach again, and for a moment, you imagine putting your hands all over him right then and there. 

“I wouldn’t worry at all,” you answer, peeling your eyes away from his body to smile up at him. 

“You have five minutes of your visit remaining,” the automated voice chimes over the PA system. 

“Ah,” Rose sighs, his face falling as he sets his plate down once more. “I knew we were getting close to that time again, but it doesn’t make it any easier. May I get you your jacket?” 

“That would be lovely of you, Rose,” you agree. He smiles and stands, moving toward the coat hanger, while you take one more deep swig of the wine, stand, and brush a few stray crumbs from your lap. 

“It seems our visits always go so quickly, even when I’m given a little more time with you,” Rose laments, holding your jacket open as he moves toward you. 

“Time really flies when we’re together,” you agree, turning your back to him and letting him help you into the jacket. When you turn back around, Rose gives you a soft smile - a little sad, you note - and reaches up to touch your cheek gently. 

“Maybe one day we’ll be able to spend more time together, and not have to part as often,” he murmurs. You return his smile and reach up to him, cupping his cheek in your hand. His dark skin is smooth under your palm, his well-groomed beard just a little rough in contrast. 

“I would like that,” you agree quietly. His green eyes light up in response, and he strokes his thumb over your skin gently. 

“This may be a bit sudden,” he says. “But…may I kiss you?” 

You heart skips a beat, and you can feel your stomach doing flip flops at the thought. The part of your brain that had been telling you not to develop a crush on Rose and to be careful around him is drowned out by the rest of your mind and body. Even the idea that he might ruin you to restore his status is barely even present in your mind. You’re overcome by the feelings building for him. 

“Yes,” you breathe. Rose wraps one arm around your waist and pulls you into him, the hand on your face sliding to the back of your head as he presses his lips against yours. You find your hands on his shoulder and the back of his head as you melt into his kiss. His lips are soft and full as they move over yours, the feel of his groomed beard and mustache adding a whole new element to the kiss. Rose kisses you gently but passionately, deeply, as he tangles his fingers into your hair, and you kiss him back, trying to meet his passion with your own. He doesn’t lick at your lips or ask for entrance, though, keeping your first together chaste but powerful as he pulls away slowly. 

You’re breathless as your eyes meet Rose’s, and don’t know what to say. 

But you don’t have to say anything, as he leans forward to rest his forehead against yours, your noses just barely touching. Standing here, like this, almost feels more intimate than the kiss, somehow. 

“You have two minutes of your visit remaining,” the automated voice announces. 

“Will you text me when you’re home safely?” Rose asks, his voice husky. 

“Of course,” you agree, stroking the soft, shaven part of his hair. His eyelids flutter shut at your touch, and he moves in, pressing one more kiss to your lips. This one isn’t as deep or as passionate; it’s just a brush of his lips over yours. But it’s gentle and sweet, and enough to take your breath away in its own right. 

“Will I see you before the trial?” Rose asks as he pulls away. 

“I’m not sure,” you admit. “But I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” 

“Mm,” he hums. “I’ll be glad to at least hear from you. Take care of yourself, okay?” 

“I will,” you answer. “You take care of yourself, too.” The door opens, and a guard comes in for Rose again, and he starts to pull away to leave. “Rose?” You murmur, letting the hand that was on the back of his head slide down to press against his chest, catching him before he turns away from you entirely. 

“Hm?” He murmurs back, pausing to glance back at you. 

“Please do think about what I said earlier, and don’t rush into doing anything with what you’ve got in the Power Plant,” you say quietly. 

“I promise I’ll think about it,” he agrees quietly, brushing your cheek with his thumb. Then he turns to leave, and with one more glance over his shoulder and a small smile back at you, he follows the guard and is gone.


	16. Texts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up here!!
> 
> Also you have no idea how hard I had to work to convince myself that Rose probably would not use the in-universe version of Snapchat but dang if I don't want to try to draw random goofy snaps from Rose now

You’re a jumble of emotions on the Corviknight taxi home. Your mind is playing and replaying all your favorite parts of your visit - the way he’d kissed you deeply, passionately, the first time, then gently, almost lovingly, afterwards. The way he’d pressed those kisses to your forehead. His lips against your neck as he’d mumbled something to you after he’d been crying. Those lips…you can’t deny that, after today, you want Rose’s mouth all over your body. Nor can you deny that you want your hands all over his body - the thought of Rose’s broad hand, patting the swell of his belly under that black turtleneck that looked so lovely with his dark skin and dark hair, is enough to nearly drive you crazy. 

But there’s some things that are driving you crazy in a less-sexual way, and you frown thinking about Rose’s plan. You’re perplexed by how genuinely excited he had seemed over sharing his idea with you, how starry-eyed he had gotten as he discussed the good it could do for Galar. Was it some sort of cover-up, or did he really have good intentions? It’s more than a little mortifying to consider that he’s seemed to learn nearly nothing from the last debacle he initiated. Though, you have to admit, it may be harsh to say he’s learned nothing. He is willing to listen to you and give your thoughts consideration, which is a start, but…it’s incredibly difficult for you to imagine that he can’t immediately see the validity behind your concerns and suggestions. 

Leon had said that Rose saw his flaws as strengths, oftentimes. You can see that now; his decisiveness, his desire for things to move quickly to produce the greatest possible outcome, is an asset in the dog-eat-dog business world. On the flip side, though, it’s a hazard in the world of science, where meticulousness and safety matters above all else - but it’s hard for him to see that after a decade of being as near to a god in human form in the business world as any man can get. 

You can only hope that his developing bond with you, and the depths of his gratitude for what you’d managed to do for him in the past, will be enough to help him see what was so easy for you to identify. You’re hopeful that things will work out. But at the same time, you’re downright scared that he will arrogantly disregard everything you’ve been saying and unleash a second catastrophe. You can’t imagine the effects of some unknown second massive crisis on Galar. 

Or on Rose, you admit, imagining how emotionally devastated - or, worse, physically injured - he could be. 

And there’s yourself to consider, too. You’re terrified of having to go through a second crisis, facing who knows what. Will Galar point to you and proclaim you as having allowed this to happen, if you testify on Rose’s behalf, and he ultimately betrays your trust and the region’s trust? Will your friends resent you if they testify and something happens? Should you tell them about Rose’s plans, or keep them quiet and hope you’re able to mitigate the danger behind them? You’re reminded yet again of Bede’s words, about how Rose would gladly play either the victim or the messiah, and drag you down if it means he can keep his upward climb. And you’re reminded of Leon’s words, that many people found it easy to put Rose on a pedestal, and only wound up hurt in the end. 

You could see how easily that could happen.  


* * *

  


You’re home for about a half hour when your phone buzzes with a text. You check it, still stewing about the visit. The text is from Rose, and you immediately jump, remembering your promise to message him when you were home safe. 

_Hello, my dear - just wanted to see if you’ve gotten home safely yet?_

Somehow, the text is a little irritating to you. An angry part of your brain says that of course he’s fawning over you - you fit into his plans, somehow. He wanted to handle the energy in the power plant with you, he’d said. You’re necessary to him, for now, and that’s why he’s giving you his attention. You set your phone down on the counter and walk away for a moment. 

But then your brain circles back as you remember the light in Rose’s eyes as he’d talked about his plans, how excited, how animated, he’d been as he’d discussed the good he could do for Galar. 

There’s two options here, you realize. The first is that you can believe what Bede says he sees in Rose - the messiah complex, the relentless drive to be the best, even at the cost of stepping on others. And it does fit, somehow. You’re sure that Rose has that in him - how could he not, after living the last ten years as he had? But you can also believe what Leon says - that despite his flaws, he’s got a heart of gold; you just have to be careful with how he’s handled. 

You can’t help but think that Leon has the crux of it all figured out. 

You return to your counter, pick up your phone, and send off a return text. 

_I’ve just arrived home safely! Thank you for checking in with me, Rose. You’re very sweet. It was so lovely to spend time with you today. <3_

Rose is a quick texter; it’s only a matter of a half a minute, or a minute at most, before another text comes in. 

_Thank you for letting me know you’re safe, my angel. It takes a weight off my mind to know you’re all right. I loved our time together as well…I miss you already. <3_

Your heart skips a beat - his angel. As flattered as you are, he’s moving a little quickly, already calling you pet names, you think. But Rose likes to move fast, you’re learning. And while it’s a little corny, it’s somehow really sweet, too. 

You’re part way through your reply to him when another text comes in. 

_I want to tell you to try not to worry about the energy in the Plant. I saw how much it affected you while we were talking about it, and I suspect you’re still at least a little upset…my poor sweetheart. I hate knowing that I’ve likely upset you, when all I want is to never hurt you again. Please know that I’m not doing anything with it while I’m here before the trial. I’ve got time to think about what you’ve said._

You pause a moment, having to collect yourself after being called his sweetheart. It’s evident to you that as far as he was concerned, you really were his, now. Trying to slow down the hammering of your heart, you restart your reply. 

_I miss you already, too, my dear Rose. Thank you for being concerned about my well-being - both physical and emotional. I am a little upset about the discussion of the energy in the Plant. But I have to believe you won’t put Galar or myself at risk a second time._

It feels bold, you think, calling him your dear Rose. It’s earlier than you would do it if he hadn’t initiated the pet names. But you kind of like it, and you know that he’s definitely going to like it. So you hit send. 

_I will never risk you or Galar_ , comes Rose’s quick reply. A few moments later, a second text arrives as well. _Please trust me, darling._

You hesitate a moment, but deep down, you already know the answer. 

_I do,_ you reply.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters? In one night? It's more likely than you think (esp when the first chapter is really short lmao)
> 
> ALSO TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! Yayyyyy

The next couple days seem to fly by. You’re busy running drills and practice patterns with your Pokemon and a few of the other Gym Leaders who’ve already had their first-of-the-season exhibition battles against you, including Raihan, Nessa, Milo, and Kabu. Thankfully, the brunt of the exhibition battles has switched to the Gym Leaders who haven’t had one yet, plus Bea, so you’ve got a little while to enjoy relative rest - though you’re really not sure which is more taxing, battles or training. It doesn’t help that when you’re not in the stadium, you’re booked for a handful of photo shoots, which is a whole new level of emotionally exhausting. You leave each shoot genuinely surprised that Nessa enjoys doing the modeling thing. 

You’re three days into training when you turn down an invite from Nessa to go get dinner with them all and instead mosey home, flopping down on your couch, exhausted. As Champion, you were sometimes expected to run through the drills multiple times, once with each Gym Leader. You’re more than a little envious that they have the energy to go out, while you feel like you’ve been beaten with a bag of bricks. How had Leon managed to keep up with this? 

You flip on your TV, watching the weather lady report on the Galar region a little distractedly. You should text Rose, you think. The two of you have been in near constant contact, and you love getting to chat with him quickly on your breaks and evenings. 

Your sore arms go to fish your phone out of your pocket when the weather broadcast ends, and a newslady appears on screen, Rose’s face behind her. 

For a moment, your heart skips a beat, and your stomach drops. Surely Rose hasn’t done anything he’d promised you he wouldn’t do. 

“In big news for the Galar region, an adequate and impartial jury has been decided upon for the former Chairman of the Pokemon League’s trial. Rose is expected to appear before the court on his originally scheduled date of next Monday. Rose, once beloved throughout Galar, is also known as the CEO and founder of business conglomerate Macro Cosmos…” The news lady continues on, giving a quick sketch of Rose’s business dealings and the entire Darkest Day fiasco, but you’re only half listening, because you’re picking up your phone and pressing video call on Rose’s contact info. 

It’s the first time you’ve called him, much less video called him, but his phone only rings a couple times before he picks up. 

“Darling,” he greets you, sounding and looking a little excited and surprised. In the background, you can hear the same newscast you’re listening to. 

“My Rose,” you greet him back; he’d gone through the whole alphabet of pet names with you, before settling mostly on darling, though sometimes he would call you sweetheart or angel or another variant. You, however, had liked calling him either just your Rose or your dear Rose from the outset. “I just saw the news -” 

“Yes!” He exclaims. “I just heard from my lawyer -” 

“I’m so happy for you,” you gush. 

“Thank you! It’s so wonderful that things won’t be delayed,” Rose beams. Even over video chat, his face is staggeringly handsome, you think. 

“It is,” you agree, beaming back at him. “And to think your trial is scheduled to start on Monday! Rose, isn’t that amazing? Things could be totally different for you this time next week!” 

“I know,” Rose says, toying with his long strand of hair and giving you a soft smile. “My life could be entirely different in just a week. Our lives could be entirely different.” 

“You must be so excited,” you smile back at him. 

“Excited, but nervous, too,” he agrees. 

“Everything will go well,” you reassure him. “I’m sure you’ll be acquitted. And the people of Galar are going to love you again.” 

“I hope so,” Rose smiles. “But, truthfully, I’m more nervous about what will happen after I’m acquitted.” 

You frown, furrowing your brows. 

“What do you mean?” You ask slowly, feeling your heart sink. You have a feeling you know what he means, and that you won’t like it. 

“Well, darling,” he starts, his features apologetic and anxious. But before he can continue, a loud chiming song drowns him out. “Oh - I’m so sorry,” he says, though it’s hard for you to hear him over the noise. “My lawyer is calling. May I go talk to him?” You nod. 

“Thank you, dear,” Rose says with a smile and a farewell wave before hanging up. 

In the wake of the video call, you’re left somehow more exhausted than ever, a hollow feeling in your chest. You knew the decision to trust Rose was going to be a conscious one that you’d have to make, over and over. He’d promised you he wouldn’t do anything with the energy, and your gut tells you he’s not lying. But now you know with certainty that it’s what he’s hoping to do afterwards that you still have to worry about. You need him to understand that compromise and moving slowly and carefully doesn’t involve sitting tight on an idea until he gets the first taste of freedom, then immediately plowing forward exactly as he’s intended. If he’s going to truly compromise with you on this, he has to move forward slowly after his release, consulting with experts and taking every precaution - it’s just that that seems to be the last thing he wants to do. The thought of having to make Rose understand this leaves your whole mind, body, and heart feeling tired. 

As exhausted as you feel, though, you know you won’t be able to sleep tonight. You’ll be too busy worrying about what was to come, worrying if you could really trust Rose, worrying if you could do enough to stop whatever he might bring on Galar and on himself - before it even started.   


* * *

  


Getting in touch with Rose before his trial is hard. He’s able to text you, sure, but you desperately want to talk with him, face to face, or at least in real time if you can’t video call him, to address the growing concern on your mind. You want, more than anything, to ask him again what was making him nervous, what exactly it was that he’d inferred would happen after his acquittal. You want to hear him say something, anything, other than the stored energy. And if it is the energy, you want to be able to start talking to him about it, breaking through his walls. 

But between frequent meetings with his lawyer, coaching sessions on presentation and public speaking, and even visits from a tailor to make sure his suit fit him perfectly, Rose is a hard man to get ahold of. Not that your schedule is much better - between the continued drills, photo shoots, and the requests for your presence at the other Gym Leaders’ exhibition battles, many on the opposite side of Galar entirely, you’re strung out. And that’s not even counting a couple sessions with your lawyer and Rose’s, during which they’d prepared you thoroughly for how the trial was expected to go, and what your role in it would be. They’d both helped you write and re-write and re-re-write your transcript of events, which you’d be obligated to read aloud in court when you were questioned as a witness. 

So it is that Sunday night arrives, with Monday - and the trial - barreling towards you faster than an angry Rhyhorn. 

You try calling Rose one more time, but get his voicemail. You hang up, and video call Hop instead. 

“Hey,” he greets you, looking a little distracted. “Sorry - just give me a sec - Dubwool, don’t eat that!” A clamor of sounds and bleats reaches your ear, then Hop returns on-screen, looking a little out of breath. “All right, mate?” He asks, as if nothing had happened. 

“I should be asking you if you’re all right,” you laugh, more than a little cheered to hear your best friend. 

“Yeah, we’re fine!” Rose exclaims. “We’re here in our rooms at Rose Tower safely. Dubwool just thinks the houseplants in this place are the greatest thing in the world.” Rose had told you by text, a couple days ago, that he’d completed arrangements to put Professor Magnolia, Hop, and Leon up in the Tower for accommodations for the nights of the trial. He didn’t want anyone to have to pay for a hotel to testify for him, which you’d found thoughtful of him. “You can’t eat them!” Hop shouts, with a defiant bleat answering him in return. “But really, these rooms are amazing! Look!” Hop spins his phone around, showing you the suite he was in. It reminds you more than a little of the prison where Rose was currently being held, with similar enormously-sized oil paintings and houseplants, though this time with sleek, modern black-and-white furniture. There’s a beautiful view of Galar out a floor-to-ceiling window, as well. 

“I’m glad you’ll be comfy,” you offer. Hop turns the phone back to his face, grinning widely. 

“Mate, this is more than comfy! This is the lap of luxury!” 

You snort a little at this, then change the topic. 

“You ready for tomorrow?” 

Hop nods. “As ready as I can be,” he agrees. “I’m not a fan of public speaking, but I guess I don’t hate it either, so I figure I’ll just give my testimony as straightforwardly as I can and get it over with. How about you?” 

“As ready as I can be,” you agree, hating the way your voice wavers despite yourself. 

“Right, you sound convincing,” Hop says. “Worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow?” 

“Yeah,” you agree. You want to tell Hop everything - the leftover energy from Eternatus in Hammerlocke, Rose’s hope to study it, understand it, and recreate it, if possible - but you’re worried, at the same time, that this will influence his decision to testify for Rose. If he won’t take the stand, you’ll have one less person in support of Rose. And he doesn’t deserve to be jailed for what happened to him. 

But at the same time, you worry he will deserve to be jailed for what he will do after he’s cleared. 

You’re about to open your mouth when Lee’s voice fills the room behind you. 

“Hoppy?” He calls. 

“Hang on,” Hop tells you, then calls back to Leon. They chat - you’re not sure what about, because you can only hear Hop’s half of the conversation clearly - and then the view from Hop’s camera jumps erratically, eventually stilling on Leon’s face. 

“Hey, Champ!” He greets you. “You ready for tomorrow?” 

“Ready as I can be,” you reiterate. 

“She’s bloody terrified,” you hear Hop’s voice in the background. 

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Leon says, giving you a thumbs up. “You must be really worried about Rose, huh?” 

“I - yeah, I am,” you settle for. You can’t tell them everything. Not now. Not when Rose is so close to the fairest trial he could hope for. Instead, the second closest thing comes tumbling out. “I’ve been so worried about him, and I’ve been trying to call him and get in touch with him all week,” you blurt. Hop sidles next to his brother so that together, he and Leon share the camera. “But he’s so busy, and I’m so busy, and we just can’t seem to connect. It’s exhausting, and it’s killing me that I won’t be able to do anything besides text with him before this trial,” you admit. 

“Hmm,” Leon hums, a knowing smile on his face. 

“I didn’t know you were texting with Rose,” Hop says. “Or calling him,” he adds after a beat. 

“You two have gotten close, haven’t you?” Leon asks. You look away from the camera for a moment, but then nod. “Rose will be okay. He has a lot going for him going into this trial, including you in his corner.” 

You wish you could tell the brothers that you hope you’ll be enough to keep him safe after the trial, too.


	18. Before the Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody for all the birthday wishes!! It was a really quiet day overall (not surprising with everything pretty much locked down haha) BUT I did go to my local grocery store and looked at their cakes and bought myself a very small cake decorated like R2D2 and it was adorable and delicious lemme tell you

The press swarms you as soon as you step outside of your apartment on Monday morning. The trial isn’t slated to start until 9AM, but you’re anxious to get there early - and to see Rose, if you can. Once he’s in the courtroom, he’ll be at the defendants’ counsel table, with his lawyer, and you won’t be able to approach him there. Your best bet is to get him as he’s entering the courthouse - though, with the press already as overbearing as they are, you’re beginning to suspect you’ll have a slim chance of that. 

“Champion, can you confirm for us that you’ve dropped all charges and will, in fact, be testifying for Chairman Rose?” 

“What would you say to individuals who suspect Rose has paid you off or used his power to intimidate you?” 

“Are you and Rose romantically involved?” 

“Do you believe Rose will be cleared of all charges?” 

You shoulder your way out of your door, pushing past bodies and trying not to be dazzled by the blinding flash of camera bulbs. This time, though, you pause just past the crowd, turning to them and saying clearly, 

“I can confirm that I’ve dropped all charges against Rose. My dear friends, Hop and Leon, have as well. We in addition to Professor Magnolia will be testifying in favor of Rose. And I do believe Rose’s name will be cleared,” you add, then turn on your heel and stalk off to the Wyndon Courthouse, drawing a flurry of further questions in your wake.  


* * *

  


There’s a crowd outside the Courthouse - and not the small kind, either. It looks like a good portion of Wyndon has turned out to watch whatever they can of Rose’s proceedings. There’s plenty of reporters, you note, but also plenty of women holding up signs proclaiming their love for Rose, and even some people holding up signs with slogans like “The Darkest Day was No Accident!” 

You stand on the fringes of the crowd having lost the press earlier, trying to scan the thousands of faces, looking for Rose. Or even Hop or Leon, you realize - having your friends with you would be comforting in its own way, at the least. 

“Hey, isn’t that the new Champion?” Someone says, and soon a handful of heads are turning towards you. 

“Mama, can I ask for an autograph?” 

“That _is_ the Champion!” 

Whatever hopes you’d had of finding Rose, they’re essentially dashed for now. You spend a handful of minutes shaking people’s hands, signing autographs, and posing for selfies, and though you’re able to pull off convincing enough smiles, your mind is really elsewhere. 

“I’d better get heading in,” you tell the crowd eventually. There’s a chorus of sad noises at your words. “But thank you all for your support! Keep working hard to be the best version of yourself you can be!” 

You groan internally - that was so corny, it was probably cornier than anything Leon used to say. You rack your brain quickly for something else to save the moment, but only come up with the thousand or more times you’d heard Leon use the phrase “champion time.” That wasn’t going to work now. 

But, to your surprise, the people seem to love what you’ve said. 

“We will, Champion!” 

“We love you!” 

Huh. 

You wave and smile, and a sea of phones raise to get one last picture of you as you depart, the crowd parting for you much more easily now that everyone knew who you were. You move towards the courthouse, and before you goes the news, passed from person to person, that the new Champion was coming, the hero of all of Galar. You hear murmurs between friends encouraging each other to stand back, get a picture of the Champion...it starts as an endless murmur and grows into a cry. A few people dare to ask you for an autograph, holding out your league card with a pen, and though you want to say yes, you know that if you agree, another mob of interested fans hoping for an autograph will descend on you. Instead, you smile and keep moving. 

Something similar is happening in the crowd to your left, you notice, but you’re not tall enough to get a good view around the sea of bodies. It’s not until you’re approaching the hubbub, nearly at the courthouse itself, that you can hear enough to know what’s going on. 

“We love you, Rose!” Someone screams shrilly. 

You pass through a narrow opening in a long red velvet rope, one security guard of many giving you a nod of recognition to allow you through, and step up onto the first of the enormous marble steps of the courthouse. There’s another slew of reporters just by the steps, all with special passes around their neck, and they start to cry out to you, asking a myriad of questions. But you hold out your hand to ask them to stop. Up here, you have a slightly better vantage point, and you can see Rose, nearly at the courthouse himself, escorted by a small entourage of guards and what looks like his attorney. He looks as stunning as you remember him when you were a Gym Challenger, in his fitted flashy gray suit with that deep red tie, intricately knotted just below the hollow of his throat. He looks completely in his element, you note, waving to the crowd, smiling, stopping to pose for pictures quickly, signing autographs as he keeps moving. He’s a lot more experienced with fame than you are, you realize. Despite your anxiety to talk to him, you can’t deny that he’s beautiful and charismatic when he’s in his element, and you allow yourself a moment to enjoy watching him. He moves with a grace and a confidence that you hadn’t seen in the prison, and his face is handsome, captivating from all angles. You can’t believe you’ve gotten to kiss this gorgeous man before, and find yourself very much wanting his attention to be on you and not the crowd any longer. 

Rose must feel your eyes on him, because he turns from signing an autograph, looking towards the courthouse and searching the steps. There are a few people bustling up towards the courthouse all around you, but you take a step forward to Rose, hoping he’ll notice the movement. He does, and when he sees you, green eyes locking with yours, his smile grows just a little wider, more genuine. His eyes are soft and kind as he turns away from the crowd, moving with purpose and eagerness towards the velvet rope, then past it, and towards you. 

The reporters are clamoring more than ever now, but Rose navigates around them easily, climbing the first step and approaching you with his hands held out to you. He slides them onto your waist when he’s close enough, and holds you at a distance for a moment, eyes sparkling, before pulling you against him wordlessly. 

Everything you had wanted to talk with him about, it’s all gone - for the moment, at least. You wrap your arms around Rose’s shoulders, holding him tightly, burying your nose in his neck. You hear the flurry of quick clicks that indicates dozens of media cameras are taking their shot, but don’t pull away. Rose is broad and solid against you, reassuring but soft. You don’t want to let go of him just yet. And, if you’re honest, you want the world to see that you have Rose’s affection. 

“I missed you so much, my dearest,” Rose murmurs into your neck, one of his hands coming up to stroke your hair. Another flurry of quick clicks follows. 

“My Rose, I missed you too,” you sigh, but you’re soon overwhelmed by the return of your anxieties. “I need to talk to you,” you say quickly, but Rose just gives you a tighter squeeze. 

“Let’s deal with the media first, then get inside and we can talk quickly,” he urges. You know he’s right, and you nod into his shoulder before the two of you pull away slightly, your arms looped loosely around his neck, his arms holding you close by his waist. The sound of cameras taking their third shot follows, and the media begin shouting their questions to the two of you. Rose ignores them a moment longer, though, and cups your face in his hand. “May I kiss you?” He asks. 

You know that if you say yes, you’ll be throwing in your lot with him forever - whatever his plans with Eternatus’ energy are. And if you say no, you can’t imagine a way forward for the two of you together. 

It’s a hard decision to make in a split second. 

“Yes,” you breathe, and pull Rose in. You have to trust him, have to trust in his ability to do better and trust in the fledgling bond you share to help him along the way. Rose’s lips meet with yours, their soft fullness pressing deeply against you, moving hungrily. You can hear the hubbub of dozens of cameras taking shot after shot, the reporters crying their questions, but it all fades away into background noise. You return Rose’s kiss with an equal amount of hunger, relishing the passionate connection between the two of you. But it can’t last, and it can’t go deeper - not in front of the public and the reporters. Rose pulls away, turning towards the media, one arm still wound about your waist, holding you to his side. You let your hand come up to rest on his chest, grateful for his presence to ground you. 

“People of Galar, beloved media friends, it’s our pleasure to be here today. We’re open for whatever questions you may have,” Rose beams, the arm not holding you tight gesturing broadly, welcomingly. 

A cacophony of noise and shouts ensues. You’re not sure how Rose can pick out one question over another, but he points to one reporter, who rushes towards the front a little more, holding his microphone out towards you and Rose. 

“How long have you and the Champion been romantically involved?” He asks; it’s clearly the question on everyone’s mind, as they all move closer if they can, raising microphones at all angles. 

“We had our first kiss two Saturdays ago,” Rose says smoothly. You’re a bit surprised to realize he’s right about the date, and he’d been able to come up with it more quickly than you had. “Though, truthfully, I began realizing my feelings a few days before that, the first time that we shared a visit after I was transferred to the new facility.” He gives you a somewhat sheepish smile, covering your hand on his chest with his own. You’re unable to keep yourself from returning his smile. 

“That’s about when it started to hit me, too,” you confirm for the media with a shy laugh. Rose beams at you for a moment before moving his hand away to select another reporter from the clamoring mass. 

“What drew you to each other?” This reporter asks, holding their microphone out much as the last one had. 

“Obviously, I think everyone in Galar is captivated by our new Champion’s strength and beauty,” Rose starts, smiling a little and gesturing confidently again. “And I’m certainly no exception. But for me, it was deeper than that,” Rose says, turning a little towards you, reaching over and brushing your cheek with the back of his knuckles. You’re more than a little curious now - you knew why you had been drawn to Rose, and you knew he considered you his savior, but you hope it’s more than just that which has drawn him to you in return. “It was the kindness I was shown, when there was no reason to show me any, when we should have been enemies in the wake of what happened. It was the mutual understanding of the horror of the Darkest Day, the need to heal from it, the way only two people who have lived through it can understand it and one another. It was the way I was able to be myself, the real Rose, not the Chairman, not the businessman, and be accepted, valued for who I was. All these things, summed up together in one person, were absolutely irresistible.” 

He pulls you in again, pressing another kiss to your forehead, as the media takes their photos of the moment. You’re growing a little nervous - how are you supposed to follow that up? You were falling for Rose for all the same reasons, not to mention his gorgeousness, but you’re sure you can’t articulate those feelings better than he had. At least, not on the spot like this. 

“Are you expecting to be cleared on all charges today?” Another reporter asks without being called on, turning the conversation abruptly away from the relationship blossoming between the two of you. You’re more than a little relieved not to have to fumble your words and look like a fool in contrast to Rose’s elegant speech. 

“I am,” Rose agrees confidently. 

“Champion, do you believe Rose will be cleared?” Another reporter asks, holding a microphone towards you. 

“I’m certain of it,” you answer, though you feel both excitement and terror at the thought. 

“What makes you both so certain of this?” The first reporter to ask about the charges pressing, leaning in just a little more. 

“Oh, oh,” Rose tuts, wagging one finger. “Can’t talk about any specifics until after the trial, now, can we?” A gentle pressure on your waist tells you Rose is preparing to go, and you stay close to him as he begins to move away. Behind you, the media clamors for more attention. But one reporter’s question rings out above them all. 

“Rose, what’s the first thing you plan to do when you’re made a free man again?” 

It’s remarkably similar to what you had asked Rose at your last visit. To your surprise, Rose hears it, and he must be interested, because he turns both you and himself back to face the media. 

Your heart begins hammering in your chest, and you can only pray he’s going to say something benign, like take a walk down a street and enjoy his freedom. 

“I have a lot of things on my list,” Rose says, his eyes sparkling. “But let’s save most of them for discussion after the trial.” Oh, thank Arceus. Then, turning to you, he continues, “The one thing I can say with confidence I will do the day of my freedom is take my darling out to eat at my favorite restaurant. We’re going to enjoy the food and the view, but most importantly, we’ll plan a romantic getaway together. I’ve dedicated my life to Macro Cosmos and Galar, and I’ve missed seeing so much of the world. But now I finally have someone to see it with.” 

Your heart melts at this, and you break into a grin. This time, you’re the one who pulls Rose close, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. He obliges, kissing you back. When the chaste kiss grows long, you both pull away just slightly, still breathing each other’s air, not willing to fully part. 

“That sounds so lovely,” you murmur, quietly enough that only he can hear it. 

Rose nuzzles the tip of his nose against yours. 

“It will be,” he murmurs back, then pulls away reluctantly, turning back to the courthouse and guiding you up the steps with his hand in the small of your back. Predictably, the media clamors behind you for one more question, but Rose ignores them. As you walk, he continues to murmur to you, keeping his voice low. “Now, my darling, what was it you wanted to talk about?” 

You glance around at the people around you - it’s not too busy here, you decide. 

“The last time I saw you - when we videochatted - you said you were nervous about what would happen after you were acquitted,” you murmur, trying your best to keep your voice low. Rose’s dreamy smile fades into a look of distant concentration, and he guides you under the great marble columns of the courthouse’s entrance, steering you almost immediately off to an alcove on the side. 

“And you’re worried that I’m going to do something risky with Eternatus’ stored energy,” he says, immediately reading the situation. You grimace and nod. 

“I’m sorry,” you breathe quickly. “I know I should trust you -” 

“You don’t have to apologize,” he answers quickly. “It’s understandable you’d be anxious about this. Please, I’ll fill you in later, but know that I’m not planning to do anything anytime soon. It might not all be on the exact timetable you’d want, but I will keep Galar safe. I will keep you safe. I can’t tell you how much I want to protect you, care for you.” 

“Rose!” A voice rings down the hallway. It’s his lawyer, obviously pissed that Rose isn’t where he’s supposed to be. Rose gives you a sheepish smile, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. 

“Wish me luck,” he murmurs, holding you close to him. 

“Good luck,” you murmur back, holding him close in return. “You’ll be a free man soon, my Rose.” 

Rose’s green eyes light up at this, and he pulls away, hastening back to his lawyer with what looks like apologetic gestures. You trail behind at a respectable distance, aware that you wouldn’t be processed into the courtroom through the same channels Rose would be. 

“Bloody hell,” a familiar voice calls, and you’re suddenly knocked a bit astray by a friendly slap on the shoulder. “You couldn’t be bothered to tell me?!” You turn to face Hop, who’s wide-eyed and grinning more than the tone of his voice would suggest. 

You realize that your best friend most likely just witnessed your first public appearance on Rose’s arm. 

“You couldn’t figure it out?” Leon laughs, coming up behind him quickly. You’re certain he’d put together the pieces on the video chat yesterday. 

“Hop, I’m sorry,” you apologize quickly. “I didn’t even realize Rose and I had feelings for each other until last week, and it’s been so crazy since then -” 

"You look happy with him,” Hop interrupts. You pause, taken aback by his thoughtfulness. 

“I am,” you agree. For now, a voice in your head reminds yourself. Rose’s assurance was hardly adequate. He wasn’t planning to do anything anytime soon - but his definition of soon, and yours, could very well differ, as he had alluded to. You can just imagine how easy it had been for Eternatus to manipulate him into action. 

“That’s good,” Hop smiles. 

“You’re not…mad? Or, er -” you glance at Leon uncomfortably, but it becomes increasingly obvious he’s not going anywhere. “You’re not jealous?” 

Hop gives a single bark of laughter at this. 

“Look, just because all the media in Galar thought you and I should get married immediately after the whole Zacian and Zamazenta thing doesn’t mean I think of you as anything other than a sister,” he chides you. You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding, relief flooding your body. “And I’m not really mad, just a little buggered that I video-chatted you just yesterday and still had to find out about your big news by waltzing in on an impromptu media conference.” 

“Bloody hell, Hop, she was pretty obvious about it yesterday. I know she didn’t outright say it, but read between the lines,” Leon laughs. 

“I’m really sorry, Hop,” you say, genuinely grinning now. 

“It’s whatever, I’ll get you back someday,” he laughs, then continues to move towards the courtroom, with you and Leon following. “I can kind of see you two really getting along, somehow. He’s good for you. Puts a light in your eyes. Though he is kind of old for you.” 

“He’s not that old,” you protest, this time returning Hop’s friendly slap to the shoulder. 

“He’s kinda old,” Leon agrees with Hop teasingly. The two brothers laugh as you turn red to your ear tips. “But if he floats your boat, we’re happy for you.” 

“Thank you both,” you beam, pausing just outside the courtroom. 

“And if he hurts you -” Leon begins, but Hop cuts him off. 

“His defeat in battle against you on the Darkest Day will feel like a cakewalk in comparison to what we’ll do,” he promises, half teasing, half serious. 

“Thank you both again, I think,” you laugh, then link arms with Hop on one side, Leon on the other, and step through the door.


	19. The Start of the Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THE TRIAL STARTS!

You’re not sure what you expected. Probably, you figure, you’d expected for the trial to be interesting, dynamic, gripping. You were in on the trial of the decade, possibly even century or millennium - you thought you’d be on the edge of your seat. 

Instead, you’re bored to tears. Hop is bored straight asleep, dozing off on either your or Leon’s shoulder. You’d be sleeping, too, if not for the slight feel of adrenaline pulsing through you. The judge had moved to exclude witnesses at the Galar District Attorney’s request. Apparently, this meant that none of the witnesses - you included - were actually allowed to sit in on the trial, for fear that one witness’ testimony may influence anothers’. So, instead, you’re in a room with absolutely nothing of interest, along with Leon, Hop, Professor Magnolia, Oleana, Raihan (to your surprise, although it made sense he’d be summoned when you thought about it, seeing as he’d helped evacuate Hammerlocke) and a handful of other people - Macro Cosmos employees, you figure, or just average citizens who’d been particularly close to the unfolding catastrophe. 

But, unfortunately, none of you are actually allowed to talk to each other. There’s a couple people from the courts to supervise you all - bailiffs? You’re not actually sure what their title is. You’ve just got your phone and your transcript of events, which you read and re-read almost obsessively. You hate the way you had to initially present the facts and nothing but the facts of your interactions with Oleana and, later, Rose on the Darkest Day. The bare re-counting of events sounded critical of him. But the facts after the Day ended - after you began visiting him - all pointed quite clearly to Rose being a man of good character who had been manipulated against his will. There’s no solid evidence, you think regretfully, but how could there be? 

The day drags by. You wish you’d brought a back up battery for your phone, which is dying as you’re constantly scrolling the internet for updates on Rose’s trial. There are virtually none; the press had been excluded from the trial, as well. Your heart breaks as you imagine Rose, taking the stand, searching the crowd frantically for you, for the support of your eyes looking into his encouragingly, and being unable to find what he wanted. But, then, Rose was good with public speaking - he loved giving speeches, in fact; he’d told you that once, on the Darkest Day, and the way he’d handled himself today proved that once more. And while that wouldn’t make the emotional stress of advocating for his freedom any less, it would certainly give him a slight edge over, say, you. 

Eight hours tick away and you’re not summoned in once. In fact, nobody is. And then you get the news that the court was adjourning for the day. You exchange worried looks with Hop, Leon, Raihan, and even Magnolia and Oleana. You can’t imagine that things are going well if they’re moving this slowly. But Professor Magnolia smiles at you on the way out, breaking the silence for the first time all day. 

“It’s going to be a long trial, dear,” she says, almost reading your thoughts. “Even if it goes well.” You nod, pursing your lips nonetheless. 

The fresh air outside the courtroom feels like heaven. Evening is nearing quickly, and you’re hungry for dinner. Professor Magnolia leaves quickly, giving you an encouraging hug before she goes. Oleana greets you quickly, with a surprising hug and a whisper in your ear thanking you for being so kind to Rose, as well as an assurance that she thought you would be good for him. You’re delighted to have her blessing, and ask her if she can stick around for a minute, but she can’t; she has too much to try to go manage at Macro Cosmos, and she’s in for both a late night and an early morning. Your friends stick around with you on the courtroom steps, though, making light conversation. You’re pretty sure they’re just keeping you company as you wait to see if Rose is going to emerge. But he doesn’t, and after about a half hour, you finally accept that he was probably escorted out before you all were. 

“We’ll walk you home,” Hop offers, putting his arm around your shoulders.   


* * *

  


It’s after dinner when you get a text. You’d thrown together a meal from things you had lying around, watching the TV coverage of Rose’s trial, which largely amounts to a lot of speculation and the morning interview with you and Rose being played on loop. The only other clip is of Rose leaving the courthouse, raising one hand, politely smiling and saying “no comments during the trial” to the wall of reporters following him. He looks tired, but he’s still able to keep up his public persona, so you know he can’t be too badly off. 

You’re watching this clip for about the third time when you pull out your phone, expecting for the text to have been from Hop, checking in on you. Instead, your heart beats faster when you see it’s from Rose. 

_What a day. The DA can be grueling, and I’m used to dealing with the media…so I thought I knew grueling._

You’re in the middle of a reply text to him when another text comes in. 

_I’m really nervous and don’t want to be alone with my thoughts right now. This is a lot to ask, but could you come over and visit me?_

You quickly delete your earlier reply, and send a new one instead. 

_Yes! I’ll be there ASAP. See you soon, my Rose <3_


	20. The Fifth Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was really short so here's a second one for today!! Also this one is literally nothing but shameless smut lmao so, if you're into that kind of thing, this is the chapter for you! If you're not super into smut you can pretty safely skip this chapter and be able to continue with the main story.
> 
> Also please note that for most of the story I've tried really hard to keep some things about MC ambiguous, so if you're NB or otherwise dislike the 'she' pronoun you would still find this story enjoyable. But this chapter treats MC as AFAB with 'she/hers' pronouns so if you don't want to read that feel free to skip as well!

The entire Corviknight taxi ride over, you’re wide awake, practically bouncing in your seat. You’re dying to see Rose, to hear about the trial details from him. And you’re elated that he’d sought you out for comfort. And comforting Rose is the most important thing right now, you remind yourself as you go through the prison’s security. There would be time to discuss the stored energy in the Power Plant later. 

To your surprise, you’re not led to the usual room this time. You’re not sure if it’s the hours - frankly, you’re surprised they even allow visiting at this hour of the evening, but then, it’s a rich people prison; the usual rules don’t apply. The guard opens an unfamiliar door to you, and you step through as the guard nods and closes the door without so much as following you. 

You thought you knew what to expect in this place, that nothing could surprise you any longer. 

But you’re definitely surprised when you realize you’ve been brought to Rose’s bedroom. At the same time, it’s not an unwelcome surprise, the way your first in-person visit had felt initially. 

“My darling,” Rose says, crossing the room to you with arms outstretched towards your waist. He’s in casual clothes, gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt - the first time you’ve seen him in something so lounge-like, you realize. You move toward Rose eagerly, sliding into his arms and pressing yourself against him, arms holding his shoulders firmly against your body. 

“My Rose,” you sigh, burying your face in the crook of his neck. 

“You came to me,” he says, burying his face in your hair, holding the back of your head gently. Your heart melts at how emotional he sounded as he’d said it. You still have a lot to learn about him, but you can tell that this is your Rose now - the authentic Rose, not the Rose who put on smiles and made pretty speeches for the media. 

“Of course I did,” you answer, skimming your fingers along the shaved part of the back of his head. You stay there a long moment, the sound and rhythm of each others’ breathing soothing the both of you. 

“Thank you,” Rose sighs, pulling back and looking deep into your eyes. “It was such an exhausting day. I don’t know how I can do it again tomorrow.” 

“You can,” you say, cupping his cheek in your hand. “If anyone can, Rose, it’s you. Whatever they’re asking you there, whatever they’re making you relive, it’s all over now. And whatever kind of person they’re trying to make you out to be, I’ll always know the truth of who you are, and so will you.” 

“Darling,” he says, his voice cracking. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” 

“You have no idea how much you’re beginning to mean to me,” you say honestly. Rose smiles at you, his eyes soft and kind, but with an intense light beginning to burn in their depths. 

“Maybe you can show me,” he murmurs, leaning in so that his breath is hot on your lips. He’s not kissing you - not quite, but he’s close, and his nose brushes against yours. His meaning dawns on you, and you smirk just a little, moving just a hair closer to him. It’s maybe a little early for this - but you know Rose isn’t afraid of things moving quickly, and you want Rose, when it comes down to it. You’d begun wanting him after your last visit. 

“Will it help you feel better after your long day if I do?” You ask coyly. At your words, Rose’s smile changes, no longer soft and sweet. 

“I think it might,” he murmurs, voice suddenly deep and husky. You’ve never heard it like this before, and it is lovely, the sound of it going right to your core. Your smirk widens. 

“Then I’d love to show you,” you sigh, closing the distance between the two of you. 

Rose presses his soft, full lips against you firmly, moving them over yours passionately. He’s hungry, you realize, with the question being how much of you he’s hungry for. After a long moment of kissing your closed mouth, Rose licks at your lips, asking entrance, and you open your mouth to him. His tongue is hot and experienced, setting the pace as he moves against you. He tastes a little like mint, and you wonder whether he’s had a candy recently to freshen his breath. You wouldn’t put it past him. You reach up with both hands to cup Rose’s face, fingers brushing over the groomed hairs of his styled beard. He continues to kiss you deeply, his tongue moving in your mouth, until he pulls away abruptly, looking at you as though surprised. 

“I haven’t even taken your jacket for you,” he realizes. “I’m sorry.” You laugh and pull away from him, slipping out of the jacket and tossing it away from you on the floor. 

“I think it’s forgivable if, after eight hours of testimony, you forget to take my jacket,” you say teasingly, returning your hands to his face. 

“Fair enough, darling,” Rose smirks, his voice husky again. “After all, there’s other things I’m hoping I can take.” With that, he presses his lips against yours in another open-mouthed kiss, then sets both of his broad hands on your hips and pulls your pelvis flush against his. You can feel the soft chub of his belly pressing into you, but moreover, you can feel the soft chub of his length, beginning to harden against you. You moan into his mouth, and Rose swallows the moan with his hungry ministrations. 

After a long moment and another moan pulled from you, Rose parts from you, smirking. “You like the feel of my cock, don’t you, darling?” He asks, running his thumb along your lower lip. 

“I do,” you groan, feeling Rose’s thumb part your lips and enter your mouth just a little. You suck on it for him, meeting his eyes bravely, promising of things to come. 

“Yes,” Rose moans, his eyelids fluttering for a moment. Then he withdraws his thumb and returns to stroking your lip. “You do like it, don’t you? And it’s not even in you yet.” 

“Oh, Rose,” you breathe, his words going right to your core, making you grow wetter for him. And, you’re pleased to notice, he’s growing harder against you. 

“Tell me how much you want it,” he orders you, the hand on your lips moving behind your head and pulling you into another kiss. His other hand slides up your side, fingers brushing against the swell of your breast. You smile, open-mouthed, into the kiss, unable to stop yourself from being amused at what a very… _Rose-like_ request that was. Of course he’d desire adulation even in intimacy. 

And you’ll give it to him. But not without making him work for it a little. 

You pull away from the kiss, then move to his right ear, the one without the earring, nipping at his unpierced lobe, then just below it, nipping at his neck. He tips his head away at the contact, giving you more access, and you murmur a quiet “Rose” against his skin. You press a firm kiss into his neck, then give him one more little bite, a little firmer than the others; his hand on your breast squeezes in response. Somehow, whether it’s his baited breath or the way he tips his head towards you now, listening, you can tell he’s gearing up to be told how much he’s desired. Instead, you move back up to his ear, whispering to him, “say please first.” 

You linger by his ear, waiting to hear him say the words before you move on. The hand on your breast is still squeezing firmly, but he’s otherwise still. And then, breathlessly, he moans, “please.” 

He sounds so pretty when he’s moaning, you think. 

“Please what?” You breathe, not willing to let him get off that easily. To your surprise, Rose’s length grows significantly longer and harder against your body at this. He hesitates only a minute, as if his pride is challenging him to stay silent, but eventually, he relents. 

“Please tell me how much you want my cock,” he murmurs, his voice unsteady. 

If you thought he sounded pretty when he was moaning, it’s nothing in comparison to how beautiful he sounds begging for your attention. 

“Oh, Rose,” you breathe, returning to pressing kisses down his throat, towards his Adam’s Apple and the hollow of his throat. “I want your cock so badly. Just feeling your cock getting hard against me is enough to get me so wet for you. You have no idea how long I’ve thought you’re the most beautiful man in Galar - although, really, every woman thinks that, don’t they? And you know how pretty you are, don’t you? But I’m the one who’s lucky enough to be begging for you to fuck her. And I am begging you, Rose. I want you in charge and in control of me.” 

He groans and trembles under your hands. 

“Arceus,” he curses, his other hand grabbing your other breast and pressing them together in his hands. “You’re full of surprises, you know that?” he adds, pausing for a moment. His hands move to your shoulders and he peels you gently but firmly off his neck. He’s remarkably strong, and the thought crosses your mind that even if you had wanted to resist him moving you, you probably wouldn’t have been able to. “But you know, I’m the man lucky enough to be hard for the woman the entire Region wants right now. Do you know how many men would love to trade places with me? Do you know how many people wish it was their cocks being pressed against the Champion, with her pretty little hands and mouth all over their bodies? But it’s me. And I’m intending to show you tonight that I can fuck you better than any other man ever can.” 

You’re a little surprised to find that being told such admiring words feels better than you’d expected it would. You can see how easily Rose could have gotten addicted to the feeling. 

Rose’s hands move from your shoulders to your ass, and he bends his knees a little, then lifts you easily into his arms, spreading your legs apart over his wide waist. You lace your arms around his neck almost instinctually, but he has a good hold on you. 

“May I bring you to my bed?” Rose asks softly. It’s an abrupt departure from the dirty talk he had just been trading back and forth with you, but somehow, it’s no less arousing, especially considering that he was being careful to get your consent. 

“I would love that, my dear Rose,” you sigh. One of your hands moves from behind Rose’s neck to trace his jawline and pull him forward so his mouth is against yours again. 

“Good,” he mumbles against your lips, melting into the kiss. It’s gentle and sweet, just what you need right now, and you make a sound in your throat when he pulls away. He chuckles just a little at this. “I meant what I said when I told you I’m going to fuck you better than any other man ever could. But, angel, I’m going to be so careful with you. If anything hurts, you tell me right away. And you tell me what you like, too, okay?” 

“I will,” you agree, blushing. His gentle words seem all the more striking when contrasted with the filthiness that had been pouring from his pretty lips earlier, and you find yourself hoping that he’ll keep alternating between the two. Rose carries you easily across the living space, past a kitchen, and into another room with an open door. He shifts you into one of his surprisingly strong arms - maybe he had all that strength from his days as a miner, you wonder? - and reaches behind himself, closing the door with the other hand. “Rose,” you say to him just before he sets you down on the bed. 

“Hm?” He hums, adjusting you in his arms just a little. 

“The same goes for you. If there’s anything that you like or want me to do to you, tell me, okay?” You’re eager to learn Rose’s preferences and fantasies - but to your surprise, Rose turns about the darkest shade of red you’ve ever seen him turn. 

“Thank you,” he says, then quickly adds, “but I want to keep tonight about you.” 

“Funny,” you hum as he lays you down carefully, head on his pillows. “I thought tonight was supposed to be about helping you feel better.” 

Rose hesitates, unsure what to say but still blushing heavily. 

“You can tell me what it is you want,” you purr, reaching up and touching his cheek. 

“I - don’t want to actually do it tonight,” he says slowly, though the rest of his words come out a touch faster than usual. “But I haven’t had a man or a woman fuck me up the ass in a very, very long time. I…really miss it and I would love it if you’d peg me sometime.” 

Oh. Considering that you’d just had your first kiss not even two weeks ago, you suppose that is a lot of information to share all at once, and you can see why he might feel embarrassed. But you’re delighted he’s decided, almost in spite of himself, to trust you. 

“I’ve never pegged anyone before, but I’ll try for you,” you tell him, still stroking his cheek. “You’ll have to help me figure it out a little, though.” 

You grab a still-blushing Rose by the shirt and pull him towards you, trying to maneuver him onto the bed on top of you; he gets the idea, clambering up until his broad body is on hands and knees over you. 

“I’ll teach you everything someday,” he promises, a small smile playing across his lips as he spreads your knees apart with his legs. He settles in between your legs, his manhood rock hard as he lays his hips against yours. "But for now, I just want to be in you, warm and snug and wet, and make you cum on my cock.” He tugs on the hem of your shirt, pulling it up. You oblige him, lifting your body and then your shoulders, and he slides your shirt off you, tossing it to the side. He moans quietly at the sight of your body, and immediately reaches behind you to unclasp your bra. Once that’s off you, too, he moans again, louder, at the sight of your breasts bared to him. 

His large hands reach for your breasts immediately, groping and bouncing them. The manliness of his hands on you, the sight of those gorgeous thick forearms, just the right amount of well-muscled and covered in black hair, is arousing in itself. But then he starts flicking at your nipples with his fingers, and you find yourself squirming into his touch for more, moaning his name. You want to be able to put your hands on his gorgeous body the way he’s touching you, and you tug at the hem of his shirt, trying to lift it higher. Now it’s Rose’s turn to oblige you, and he pauses in his ministrations, pulling his shirt off for you and tossing it to the side. 

His body is gorgeous - he has a bit of softness to his chest, which is broad and lightly dusted in dark hair. A thin line of hair trails down to the chub of his belly - Arceus, you think, he has just the right amount of plumpness to him. Though you’ve known this since the first time you saw him in his incognito outfit, that white sweatshirt hugging his curves, it’s another thing entirely to see him bared to you in person. You’re reminded of how desperately you had wanted to put your hands all over him when he’d patted his belly during your last visit to him; this time, you’re also thinking how soft he’s going to feel against you as he fucks you, how plush he’ll be as you turn to cuddle with him for the night. 

You place your hands on his belly, running your fingers up and down his skin greedily. 

“You’re beautiful,” you breathe to him. Rose chuckles quietly. 

“Not as beautiful as you,” he murmurs back, shaking his head a little in disbelief. He lowers himself down above you, bringing his mouth to the hollow between your collarbones. He peppers kisses between the two bones, then begins to work his way down to your breasts. His hands move away from your nipples, instead ghosting over your ribs and lingering at your sides. You’re groping everywhere you can reach on him, feeling the wide sturdiness of his shoulders, the hair on his chest, the swell of his biceps. Rose takes one of your nipples into his mouth, and he nips and pulls at your sensitive flesh, his other hand coming up to toy with your other nipple. Then, to your surprise, he lets go of your breast with his hand, though he keeps teasing you with his pretty mouth. He reaches to his own body where you’re exploring him, grabbing both of your hands in his own and moves them over his chest, until you’re touching his nipples, too. His large fingers show you what he likes, flicking and pulling, then moving so that you can do the same to him. You follow his lead, earning yourself a moan from him. 

Rose moves his mouth to your other breast, licking a thin line over your skin as he goes. You shiver under his touch, continuing to work at his nipples in return. 

But it’s not long before you’re feeling greedy, and you reach down with one hand, trailing down the thin line of curls that disappear below the hemline of Rose’s sweatpants. Your fingers glide over the fabric until you find what you’re looking for - the tip of Rose’s length. He’s still rock hard, you note with pleasure as you slowly touch the head of his cock, feeling the shape of him in your hand. Then you slide your hand down his shaft. Rose bucks into your hand, letting out another moan. It’s like music to your ears, and you love that he’s so vocal for you. 

“Arceus, it feels good to have you touch me,” he says, his voice husky. Then, mouth still around your breast, he says something barely audible. 

“What was that?” You murmur to him idly, traveling back up to the hem of his pants and dipping underneath. He’s not wearing underwear, you realize. Cheeky bastard. You easily find his length again and grip it, giving him a few pumps. 

“I said it’s been so long since anyone’s touched me like this,” he repeats himself, just loud enough for you to hear it. 

“Really?” You blurt. It’s insensitive of you to say it like that, you realize as soon as the word is out, but the simple truth is that you’re surprised. The man you’re jerking off is stunningly gorgeous, famous, sweet, and a multi-billionaire. You’d kind of assumed he was getting laid all the time. 

“Really,” he confirms, biting your nipple as if to chastise you for your rudeness, then soothing it with his tongue. You figure that’s the end of the conversation, but after a long moment, Rose continues. “I haven’t had any real action since before I started Macro Cosmos. Sometimes it was because I had no time to invest in a relationship. But I also learned that when you’re as wealthy as I am, a lot of people just want you for the money. After I heard that someone I was seeing was hoping to marry me fast and then divorce me and take half my assets, I stopped dating around.” 

“Oh, Rose, that’s awful,” you murmur, your heart hurting for the man. To be so alone, to not know if you can trust anyone, and to have your trust broken in that way…the hand not currently pumping him reaches up, stroking the shaved part of his head, then tangling in the dark, thick, longer locks soothingly. Rose hums in contentment, the vibrations reverberating in your chest. But one question still burns within you. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but how come you’re making an exception for me, after all these years?” 

Rose snorts against your skin, pulling away and looking up at you, a loving smile across his features. 

“Because you’d be the worst gold-digger in the world if you were trying to hit up a regionally-disgraced man in jail who gave you PTSD by summoning the Darkest Day,” he says, shaking his head but still smiling. “So I figured the fact that you kept coming back, especially that last time, was a pretty clear sign that you must really like me for me.” 

You laugh out loud at this, and Rose moves up to press a kiss to your cheek. He sits up, and you feel his hands move away from you as he wiggles out of his sweatpants. You stare at his freed cock - it’s gorgeous, like the rest of him, you think - but then, his hands tug at your pants, and you set to work helping him get you out of them. 

“May I kiss you?” Rose asks, his fingers lingering just on the inside of your now-bared thighs. It takes you a moment to realize what he means. 

“Of course,” you breathe. 

Rose is true to his promise to be gentle with you, careful as he lowers his head between your legs, first pressing a kiss to the inside of your thigh and taking a deep breath. His mustache and beard tickle a little against your skin, and you squirm from the sensation. But Rose hooks his arms around your legs, hands pressing on your thighs, providing just enough pressure to hold you down. And then he presses his nose to your folds, and uses his tongue to part them, licking a stripe up your heat. His long strand of hair tickles the inside of your thigh as he licks again. 

“Rose,” you gasp. 

“You’re so fucking wet for me,” he moans. “You’re going to feel so wet and warm and ready around my cock.” He licks you yet again, taking a moment to swirl around your most sensitive spot. “I can’t wait to be in you,” he mumbles, just loudly enough for you to hear, then returns to licking your heat and flicking his tongue intently over that spot. Then his tongue presses inside you, just a little. You jump at the intrusion at first - his muscle is so hot. He swirls his tongue in you a little, lapping at what he can reach of your walls, then slides it in and out a few times, swirling it more. You turn into a moaning mess on the bed, calling his name, reaching down and threading your fingers through his hair. 

And then it’s not his tongue that’s pressing into you - it’s one of his fingers. You’re already so eager for the beautiful man between your legs that his finger meets no resistance as it slides in. He pumps the digit in and out of you a few times, playing with the angle tentatively until finding something that makes you cry out for him again. Then he adds a second finger, trying to keep that same angle, the pressure on your front wall. 

“You’re so pretty when you call my name, you know that?” He murmurs in between nipping and suckling and flicking his tongue over your most sensitive spot. A third finger pushes into you, beginning to stretch you, but the fullness feels good. “Does this hurt at all?” Rose asks you, stirring his fingers inside you. 

“No,” you groan. “It feels amazing.” 

“Good,” he says, and you can feel his lips curl into a little smile against your skin. “Now I want you to be a good girl for me and let me please you, okay?” 

“What about you?” You manage, fighting down a moan. Rose lets out a deep laugh, the vibrations against your heat enough to make you arch your back. 

“If I let you suck my cock, darling, I wouldn’t make it into this perfect little pussy of yours.” 

His words start to build the coil of heat in your stomach, and he begins to move his fingers in and out of you, his mouth returning to its work. He may not have seen much action recently, but he’s certainly not what you’d consider rusty, and he’s particularly talented with his tongue. His fingers set a steady pace pumping in and out, stretching and preparing you. And, although his pace never becomes rough or brutal, he’s consistent and patient, hitting all the right spots over and over. 

You’re moaning, both of your hands tangled in his hair and pressing him further in between your legs, calling his name over and over. 

“Good girl, you’re doing so good for me. So perfect,” Rose is saying as he works. “Such a good girl.” 

The coil is building tighter and tighter, and you can feel the sheets beneath you starting to grow wet from your juices and Rose’s ministrations. 

“Rose,” you cry, your fingers tightening in his hair, eyelids beginning to flutter. 

“My angel,” he moans against your core. “You can do it, darling. Come for me all over my mouth.” 

And you do, wave after wave of throbbing pleasure washing over you, your walls convulsing around Rose’s thick fingers, which slow and then still inside you. 

As your orgasm abates, Rose slowly pulls his fingers out of you, making careful eye contact with you as he licks them clean. 

“That was perfect, darling,” he groans, pulling his last finger out of his mouth with an obscene pop. “You’re so beautiful and so delicious. Do you think you can do that again for me, but this time while you’re stuffed full with my cock?” 

In that moment, blissed out with pleasure, every nerve in your body ecstatic, you feel wholly as though you would do anything Rose could ever ask of you, and you decide to tell him so. 

“I’d do anything for you right now, Rose,” you say, surprised to hear how husky your own voice sounds. Rose groans at this, moving up your body, the tip of his cock dragging along the inside of your thigh. He’s still incredibly hard. He supports himself on his elbows above you, shifting to one side to allow one hand to guide himself to your entrance. He presses into you carefully, watching your face for any reaction. But the head of his manhood slips in easily, and he presses forward gradually, receiving only moans of appreciation from you. When he bottoms out within you, he lowers himself over you, letting some of his weight pin you down. 

“How do I feel in you, dearest?” He murmurs into your ear. “Is everything okay?” 

“You feel perfect, Rose,” you sigh, one hand reaching down to give his ass a squeeze. He chuckles a little at this and starts to move just slightly, in short, shallow thrusts. 

“Good,” Rose murmurs, his hot breath tickling the skin of your neck now. “Because you feel every bit as good as I dreamed you’d feel. So warm and wet and snug around me.” 

You consider saying something cheeky about how he’d apparently been dreaming about you, but when he begins moving in larger, longer thrusts, you’re reduced to a low moan instead. Above you, Rose echoes your moan, his chest rumbling against yours. 

Rose kisses and sucks at your skin as he settles into a rhythm, and you lift your legs up, managing to wrap them around his thick waist. 

“Oh, good girl,” he moans. “You want me deep in you, don’t you?” 

You bury your head into his shoulder and mumble something - you don’t even know what. But it doesn’t matter, because suddenly Rose is much deeper in you, and you’re seeing stars. Your breathing hitches, and you dig your nails into his back, and soon you’re crying his name out every time he pounds into you like a mantra, like it’s the only thing keeping you grounded. 

“Can I try something?” Rose asks, sitting up and pulling away from you without breaking his pace. 

“Anything,” you almost sob. 

“Okay,” Rose says, one of his arms wrapping around under your legs. “If this is too much, let me know, darling.” Carefully, he lifts your leg so that your calf rests on his shoulder; then, after a few experimental pumps into you, he tries the same thing on the other side. Your hips come up off the bed slightly, leveraged by Rose’s body as he bends forward over you a little, and Rose’s broad hands grab you by the hips, supporting you and pulling you into him as he thrusts into you. 

Rose sets a gentle pace at first, but now, he has a better hold of your lower body to leverage you into him, and the position he assumes allows him to build more power. You, on the other hand, are completely powerless to help him, only able to hang onto the sheets for dear life. Above you, Rose is working himself into a frenzy even at this slow pace, a stream of constant curses and moans of your name intermingling with praises of how good you were being for him. 

And then one of his hands moves just enough to allow him to rub at your bundle of nerves, and you’re beginning to see stars all over again. 

“Play with your breasts for me,” Rose orders you, and you oblige, squeezing your breasts together for him, grabbing your nipples in between your fingers and rolling and pinching them. “Fuck, that’s perfect,” he groans. “I’m not going to be able to stay this gentle with you for much longer.” The forefinger on the hand not currently playing with you bundle reaches for your bottom lip, smoothing across it, and again, he presses past your lips, inserting his finger into your mouth. 

“Don’t be gentle with me anymore, Rose,” you beg him. “Fuck me. Take me hard.” You close your mouth around his finger and suck, still playing with your breasts for him, and he groans loudly. 

“Anything you want, I’ll give you, my good girl,” he says, the hand in your mouth pulling out to grab your hips and pull you into him forcefully. He sets a rapid, almost unforgiving pace, pounding you so deeply in this utterly vulnerable position for you that you begin to scream his name in pleasure. Rose calls your name back, his voice rich and husky. 

“I’m not going to last much longer,” he warns you. “Please, angel, please be a good girl and come soon for me. Come all over my cock.” He rubs faster and harder at your bundle of nerves, and you can literally feel your toes curl where they rest over his shoulders as you scream for him again. 

And then you come undone, the throbs of your pleasure powerful, racking your whole body as you shudder under him and call his name again and again. You can feel your walls clamping down on his manhood even as he continues to pound into you. But his pace grows erratic, and he’s moaning loudly, sometimes wordlessly, sometimes calling your name, his pretty mouth open and his eyes closed. 

He cries out as he comes inside you, his cock throbbing and twitching as spurt after spurt of his hot cum fills you. Overcome by the intensity of his orgasm, Rose collapses forward, letting your legs slide off his shoulders as his body covers yours again. He groans into your shoulder, biting the skin there as he keeps throbbing. You realize he’s also thrusting shallowly, erratically into you, chasing the last little bit of his high. 

Rose’s pumping slows gradually, even after he’s done coming, even as he begins to grow limp within you. But he doesn’t pull out entirely, letting his softening cock rest within you as he breathes into your neck. You let your hands come up to hold him close to you, one of your hands again tangling into his hair. For a couple minutes, neither of you move; there’s just the warm steadiness, the softness and weight, of Rose above you, the feel of his heart beat reverberating through his chest, his breathing against your skin, and a sensation of his hot seed slipping out of you around where you remained joined. 

“My darling,” he finally murmurs, his voice low and husky. “You were so good for me. Oh, Arceus, I hope that felt as good for you as it felt for me.” 

“Oh, my Rose, you felt amazing,” you breathe back. “I’ve never had anything as good as that before.” 

“Well, darling, you can have it anytime you want,” he says with a smile, then buries his face against your neck, taking one more deep breath before pulling out and rolling off of you. “Let me get some things to clean you up.” He moves off the bed, and you’re suddenly cold without his presence. 

“Rose?” You call after him. He’s only in the adjacent bathroom, but he pops his head around the door, a look of concern on his face as he checks in on you. 

“Everything okay, darling?” 

“I - I just wanted to know if that helped you feel better,” you admit, feeling sheepish saying it out loud. Rose returns with a couple of washcloths, wiping his manhood clean with one. 

“It did,” Rose agrees before cleaning you up gently with the other cloth. “But you know what would help me feel even better?” 

“Hm?” You hum. 

“If you would stay the night and cuddle with me?” He says, phrasing the sentence like a question, a surprisingly vulnerable expression on his face. 

“I would love to, Rose,” you beam. 

You’ll figure out how to get suitable clothes for the courtroom tomorrow.


	21. The Trial, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some mild NSFW implications at the start of this chapter but after that we're back into the swing of things!!

It turns out they’ve got everything in this place, including a really nice outfit for you to wear to court for tomorrow. You’re only a little surprised by now; you’re learning quickly that almost nothing should surprise you here. 

Rose sits with his arm around you in the Corviknight taxi, holding you to his side. 

“It’s so good to have you here right now,” Rose sighs, anxiety about the day ahead evident on his face. 

“It’s going to be okay, Rose,” you soothe him. “No matter what happens, you’ll have me. We’ll face things together.” 

“Thank you,” he murmurs, smiling at you before looking out the window. In the distance, you can see the great marble courthouse of Wyndon, growing slowly larger. Rose’s green eyes lock on the building, his smile slowly fading. 

“Guess we’ll be landing soon,” you murmur, then get an idea. You lean into Rose and whisper in his ear, “Hope I walk straighter outside the courthouse than I did getting into this taxi. If I’m limping and we arrive together, the media will never leave us alone about it.” 

Rose smirks, tearing his eyes away from the view and moving to whisper back in your ear. 

“Limp as much as you want, darling. Let them all know who did it to you.”   


* * *

  


It’s been two hours, and today is going very similarly to yesterday - you and your friends continue to sit in a room, doing absolutely nothing. You’ve been surfing the internet on your phone, a little delighted to see that nearly every reputable news source - and some not-so-reputable - is covering the fact that you arrived on Rose’s arm today. But there’s only so many times you can read about the way Rose had opened the door for you, the kiss he’d planted on your lips, the way you looked stunning next to him in his suit. And there’s only so much speculation on your relationship - when it started, if you were sleeping with Rose or if he’d just had the taxi pick you up - that you can tolerate, too. You scroll through your social media instead, ignoring the many times you’d been tagged in posts about Rose. 

And then, the door to the room opens, breaking the silence, and one of the people you don’t know is called in. They must be for the prosecution, you realize; everyone else in the room is, after all, testifying on behalf of Rose. The hours tick by while they’re called in one after the other; there’s really quite a few of them. And then, to your surprise, Oleana is called in. She stands, the picture of composure, and walks to the door. You reach out to touch her arm lightly as she goes, flashing her a quick thumbs up. She almost smiles at the gesture, but does nod at you. And then she’s gone. 

When she returns after a couple hours, all eyes are on her. 

“I think they’ve just adjourned for the day,” she announces. 

When you get the official confirmation that the court really had adjourned, you’re disappointed and exhausted from a second day of anticipation. You wait a few minutes on the steps for Rose, but when Hop gives you a meaningful look, you nod and decide it’s time to go home. 

Later that evening, you and Rose exchange a few texts, but he tells you he’s pretty sure his lawyer will personally murder him if he has you over again, because they can’t run the risk of appearing to interfere with one of their most important witnesses’ testimony. You’re tempted to tell him that ship sailed last night, but instead reply expressing your understanding, but also your wish that you could be with him. You get a quick response from Rose. 

_I know, my darling. I’ve been thinking about you all day...but you should try to get some rest. Tomorrow could be another long day. Especially for you._

A second text comes in as you finish reading the first. 

_But try not to be nervous about tomorrow. You’ll do great. <3_

Despite his best of intentions, you’re certainly very nervous at the idea that you will most likely finally be giving your testimony tomorrow. But you decide not to tell him that - he needs to keep worrying about himself, not you, too. 

You try to get some rest, too, my dear Rose. And thank you for your encouragement. I’ll be glad to have you back in my arms when this is all over. 

You hit send, plug in your phone, and pass out.   


* * *

  


There’s another couple hours the next day where nothing happens; Leon whispers to you that the prosecution is probably resting its case, and things are probably switching to the defense. His suspicion proves to be right when Professor Magnolia is the first to be called in. 

The amount of time between people being called in varies, but Oleana returns to the stand next, followed by Leon and Raihan. Leon’s testimony takes the longest, you think; Raihan’s is the quickest. 

When Raihan re-enters the courtroom, he shrugs and shakes his head at you. 

“Think that’s it again.” 

This is really going to drag out, you realize.   


* * *

  


_Tomorrow’s going to be the big day,_ you text Rose when you’re home. 

_Feeling ready? I hope you’re taking care of yourself, darling,_ his reply comes in, quick as ever. 

_As ready as I’ll be. And don’t worry about me,_ you write back to him. _I’m doing fine. I’m just worried about you._

There’s a surprisingly long pause for Rose, and you stare at the little typing message on the screen in anticipation. 

_I’ll be okay no matter what happens, darling. Because you’ve shown me that I am worthy of kindness and forgiveness, even if I have to earn those things again from people. That’s the greatest gift of all. You go rest, and know that I’ll be holding you in my thoughts tonight. Sleep tight <3_   


* * *

  


Hop is called in first the next day. He’s questioned and cross-examined for a little more than 4 hours - at least as long as Leon was, you realize. He gives you a smile when he’s let back into the room, but it’s shaky, and you can’t help but note that his hands are shaking, too. His big brother moves to give him a hug, pulling him in tight. 

“I’m sure you did good out there, Hop,” you can hear Leon murmur. You wish you could go join them, but as the last major witness to testify, you stay silent, flashing him only a thumbs up. 

“It was brutal,” Hop says back, trying his best not to sound too despondent. 

And then you’re called in. 

Hands shaking, you grip your testimony and stand to go. Hop and Leon both give you thumbs up as you walk past them in the aisle. 

The courtroom is huge and intimidating. You’re brought to the stand and sworn in; you can only hope that your voice doesn’t tremble as you repeat the words of the oath. Then you’re looking out at a sea of faces, none of them the press, wondering who in the world all these people are. But there, in front of the crowd and seated at the defendant’s table, you find Rose. He looks a little tired, and he’s keeping his expression neutral, but his green eyes lock with yours. Even from across the room, you can see an intensity in their depths, a burning affection for you and the unyielding belief in your ability to withstand this examination and cross-examination. You clear your throat into the microphone, which works and sounds remarkably loud to you. You adjust the sheet in your hands. And then you start reading.


	22. Verdict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE ARE FOLKS!!

When you leave the courtroom however many hours later, you manage to catch a glimpse of Rose’s eyes on you. He’s smiling at you just a little, the smile reaching to his kind eyes. 

But you feel terribly like crying, and when you’re back in that awful holding room, you throw your arms around Hop’s shoulders and sob uncontrollably. 

“It’ll be okay, mate,” he tells you. You hope you’re allowed to talk now that you’ve given your testimony and been examined and cross-examined, but you really don’t know how this is supposed to go. 

“Then why does it feel so awful?” You whine. Leon stands, walking around to the other side of you, and wraps his arms around both you and Hop. 

“Because making you feel awful is the prosecuting attorney’s’ job,” Oleana reminds you gently, sitting down elegantly on one of the nearby tables. “Don’t take it personally. They have to rip you apart, try to make you feel small or second-guess yourself, to try to find anything to support their narrative. It’s like that in business a lot of times, too. What I’ve found is however poorly you feel, you’ve probably done a lot better than that. And, most of all, you’ve done your best for Rose.” She gives you a small smile, touching her hand to your shoulder, and you smile back at her. It’s probably the closest you’ll ever come to a hug from her, you figure. 

But her words help. And you slowly calm down, surrounded by your friends, while the news is brought to you that the court has adjourned for the day.   


* * *

  


The next day, you’re allowed in the courtroom. The prosecution has rested, and there’s to be no more cross-examination of witnesses. You squeeze into a row with everyone, Hop and Leon sandwiching you on either side. 

The prosecution apparently gets to start their closing arguments first, and the Galar District Attorney stands confidently in front of the judge, jury, and crowd. He tears into Rose, into the credibility of the defense’s witnesses, admonishes Rose for the horrors he could have brought upon Galar, and condemns the evidence presented as completely circumstantial and impossible to prove. You hate that he’s right about that last fact, and you’re left with a lump of fury and deep sorrow in your throat as the prosecutor returns to his seat. 

Rose’s lawyer presents his closing arguments next, and as he speaks, you feel the lump in your throat starting to subside. He moves just as confidently as the DA had and begins with a long list of Rose’s philanthropic contributions to the Galar region, his dedication to infrastructure and energy improvements (with the entire of Wyndon being their greatest example), and Rose’s tenured history of serving Galar in a variety of positions, especially as Pokemon League Chairman. He notes that a man of Rose’s caliber would have no modus operandi to suddenly unleash such a destructive force on Galar. He argues that Rose was not, in fact, the only individual to have experienced the devastating effects of Eternatus, and while the witnesses were fairly close to him and could be argued to reflect possible bias, only those who were close to him would have even been around Eternatus. And he notes that although you, the Champion, were close to Rose now, having bonded with Rose through a shared healing process, you and Hop were not particularly close to him when you experienced the events of the Darkest Day, including the earliest stages of Eternatus’ poison. In summary, he concludes, there is significant evidence pointing towards the fact that Rose did not commit the crime willingly, including his immediate surrender and cooperation with the police after the fact. The question, he argues, is not whether or not the crime was committed, but whether or not the crime was committed by Rose himself, while in possession of all his faculties, or by another force entirely. 

It’s a powerful argument, and you find yourself holding onto Hop and Leon’s hands on either side of you, a different kind of lump building in your throat; this one swells up from the surge of hope you feel. 

The prosecutor has one more chance to rebut the case, and takes it, repeating how nobody present denied that Rose was the one who set all these actions into place. But it’s a fairly feeble and short argument; he’s been knocked off his feet a little by the force of Rose’s lawyer. 

When the prosecution rests, the judge turns to the jury and informs them of the applicable laws with which they will decide the case. And then he bangs his gavel, declaring court adjourned for jury deliberations. 

Everyone stands and begins to file out slowly. You linger just a moment, trying to keep your eyes on Rose as best as you can as he’s escorted out. He’s scanning the crowd quickly, but he’s unable to find you. You wish you could shout to him that you’re right here, but instead, you look away and rejoin the tide of people leaving.   


* * *

  


Jury deliberations last two days. A text message from Rose’s lawyer informs you that he won’t be texting you at all during this time, and that he was, in fact, a little mortified that Rose had been continuing to text you throughout the trial. It hurts, to not be able to be in contact with Rose. But you understand why it has to be done, and instead lean more heavily on the support of your friends than ever. 

While the jury deliberates, you’re brought back into the world of Champion duties, returning to training drills and photoshoots. You’re relieved there are no press conferences, though; you’re sure none of the questions would be about your training or your team, and all would be about the trial and Rose. 

You train your heart out, pushing your team to their limits and pushing yourself, too. It’s relieving to have something to throw yourself into, and when you come home, you’re so tired you fall asleep while on video chats with Hop.   


* * *

  


On the third day, the jury finally finishes deliberating, and everyone is called back into the courtroom again. The area outside the courthouse is more packed with reporters than you’ve ever seen it, and you navigate inside, so nervous you hadn’t understood a single one of the thousand or more questions shouted at you. 

You’re terrified of what the verdict will be. Rose could be given years to life in jail. The jury could be hung, and you could have to go through the entire trial again, probably after months of trying to find another impartial jury somewhere in the region. 

And, of course, even the possibility that Rose could be freed makes you nervous - mostly because of the worry that you still don’t know what he’ll do with his freedom. Besides take you for dinner and a world tour, apparently, which sounds nice…but you know what the press doesn’t, which is that that isn’t the whole story of what he was hoping to do. 

Again, you perch yourself between Hop and Leon. The usual crowd of witnesses is here today - Raihan, Oleana, Professor Magnolia - but further down your row of seats, you also see Sonia, Nessa, Marnie, and even Piers. Piers looks pissed about being here at all, but the girls all wave to you and flash you encouraging thumbs-up signs. 

The last person to gain access through the doors is a man in a long coat with a hat pulled low enough to obscure his face. As he moves, though, you catch a glimpse of creamy-white hair and pink leggings under the coat. 

Could it be Bede? 

You almost call out to him, but then hold yourself back, because the enormous wooden doors are closing and the judge is banging the gavel to bring the court back into session. You can only see the back of Rose’s head, and he looks steady as ever. But still, it hurts you to see him all alone up there, facing a judgment that will effect the rest of his life, one way or the other. 

One man rises from the jury, holding up a piece of paper and reading from it, much as you had done. Your ears are roaring a little and it’s hard for you to focus as he introduces himself and announces that he has been elected to speak on behalf of the jury. He states that after over 15 hours of grueling deliberations and back and forth, the jury has come to a unanimous decision. 

He pauses for breath, and the court is absolutely silent. Your heart is pounding, but you can hear everything he has to say. 

“The jury moves to unanimously declare the defendant not guilty on all charges.” 

Immediately, there’s an absolute uproar. Some areas of the court are grumbling loudly and crying out in dissension. But your entire row stands up and cheers; around the court, you can see others doing the same. You stand and cheer too, and Hop pulls you into a tight hug, Raihan reaching over to mess up your hair. 

In the far corner, the man in the long coat and hat doesn’t move at all. 

“Order! Order!” The judge is banging his gavel and shouting into his microphone. “I will not tolerate such outbursts in my court!” 

Everyone settles down, but you’re still grinning ear to ear. Rose has his freedom, now. Your eyes seek him out as the people in front of you slowly sit, and you spot him, bent over at the defendant’s table, head in both his hands, elbows on the table. His shoulders are shaking, and you know him well enough to know that he is sobbing. 

Your eyes well up with tears too. 

There’s a few more matters of formality before the judge officially declares the decision as accepted and the court permanently adjourned. But it moves faster than the rest of the case had, and it’s not long until he bangs his gavel and the trial is officially over. 

People stand and begin to filter out, talking animatedly among themselves, producing a veritable cacophony in the room. You stand, too, but push towards the front of the room. The man in the corner, you note, is already gone. 

It’s hard to fight against the crowd, but soon you’re pressed up against a railing and banister, as close to the front of the court as you can get. 

“Rose!” You call to him, tears streaming down your face. He doesn’t hear you, though; a bailiff is preparing to escort him back out. You realize that there were likely some formalities that Rose would have to go through before being officially released. Still, you try again, shouting louder over the crowd. “Rose!” 

He catches his name this time and turns to you. The tracks of his tears down his face are obvious, and his eyes are rimmed with red, but he breaks out in a smile when he sees you. Though, you note, his shoulders start to shake again; he’s begun crying anew. 

“You’re free!” You call to him. “Congratulations!” 

Rose says something back - it’s hard to hear him entirely, but you think he’s saying “thank you.” Then, more loudly and clearly, he yells, “I’ll meet you by the front of the courthouse!” 

And the bailiff escorts him away, through a separate exit.


	23. After the Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting a chapter yesterday guys!! I was really tired and fell asleep a lot earlier than I usually do. But all that rest was great and I'm back up and at 'em now! HUGE THANK YOU as always to everyone who has been reading and leaving kudos or comments <33 You all LITERALLY make my day and I hope you continue to enjoy this fic to the end!!  
> In other brief news, I'm heading back to work for the first time on Thursday. I'm super nervous about it (I have an autoimmune disease, so that's a pre-existing condition that makes me more susceptible to severe disease from COVID-19) but I don't really have much of a choice, so it's whatever. I have almost the whole of La Vie en Rose written at this point, so fortunately, even if my work schedule gets hectic, you guys will still get all the updates!!! I hope you all keep staying safe and healthy and hope you know how much I've enjoyed writing this fic and sharing Rose love with you all~ You've all made quarantine SO much better for me <3333

Rose is true to his word; he manages to find you in the sea of people just inside the courthouse doors. This is all the more impressive when you consider the absolute throng of people - press included - tailing him. You barely hear him call to you over the noise of everything, but you catch a glimmer of your name, and Raihan, taller than probably 99% of all people, picks out Rose and points to him with ease. 

“Rose!” You call back, and you both maneuver through the crowd until you’re in each other’s arms. 

Oleana, you notice, is somehow already back to trailing along over Rose’s shoulder, and you nearly snort at the sight. But it’s a reassuring one, somehow. It’s good to see that everything is back to normal again - even if just for now. 

Rose kisses you deeply, passionately, his mouth open from the time it lands on your lips. You reciprocate eagerly, letting his tongue explore your mouth for a quick moment before he pulls away. 

“You’re free,” you breathe. “We did it.” 

“We did,” Rose says, unable to stop the enormous smile that lights up his handsome face. 

“Arceus,” Hop teases, moving through the crowd to find the two of you. “Gotta use tongue and everything right now?” He slaps you on the back, then extends his hand to Rose. Behind him, the rest of your friends, including Professor Magnolia, begin to filter in around the two of you. “Congratulations, mate,” Hop says, extending his hand to Rose. Rose shifts you into one arm, pulling you into his side, and takes Hop’s hand, still smiling. 

“Thank you, Hop,” Rose says, his voice thick with emotion. He looks like he’s about to say something else, but as he lets go of Hop, Leon’s hand reaches out to him instead. Rose pauses for a moment, looking at Leon, and then lets go of you and pulls Leon into a hug, thumping his back heartily. 

“Congrats, old friend,” Leon says. You think you hear Rose murmuring back a thank you, but he doesn’t make it much above Leon’s shoulder, so the sound is muffled. When Leon lets go, Raihan pushes him out of the way playfully, then reaches out to pull Rose into a hug, stooping down for him. 

“Thought you were acting a bit not-yourself,” Raihan says. “Didn’t know how right I was. Congrats on coming back to us.” 

Rose thanks him, too, with a thump on the back. You’re beginning to realize that Rose is genuinely well-liked among the gym leaders, and this is only reinforced when Nessa steps forward. She’d called Rose a bit of a bastard once, for his rudeness to her, but nonetheless, she pulls him into her small frame quickly, apparently willing to let bygones be bygones for now. 

“I’m glad that wasn’t really you. I always wanted to think better of you than that, and I’m glad I can now,” she says. “But mostly I’m glad you weren’t convicted for something you didn’t do.” 

Sonia is next, and she shakes Rose’s hand with a small congratulations. You know she didn’t spend too much time around Rose, with the exception of the dinner in Hulbury the three of you had shared once, but you also know Rose appreciates her support nonetheless. 

Marnie steps forward once Sonia’s handshake is done, offering her hand to Rose as well. 

“I really thought you were just an idiot for trying to bring on the Darkest Day to fix the energy problem, or whatever,” she says bluntly. This gets a bark of laughter out of Rose, but he flushes deeply, as well. Her voice softens, though, as she continues. “But I’m glad I know the truth now. Congrats, Chairman.” 

“Ah, just Rose will do, I’m not Chairman any longer -” 

“Thank Arceus,” Piers groans. 

“Don’t start celebrating just yet, Piers,” Leon says, waggling a finger and grinning at him. “They might reinstate him, you know.” 

“True,” Raihan agrees. “There’s no new Chairman yet, and now that Rose has been found not guilty, they might just bring him back. Besides, weren’t you the only Chairman the League has had so far?” 

“Figures,” Piers snorts, but puts his hand begrudgingly out to Rose. “Bet you’ll be excited to be back to making my life miserable.” 

“I’m actually hoping to work with you on some things,” Rose admits, his face serious as he takes Piers’ hand. “And to compromise more than I did before.” 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Piers warns, taking his hand away and moving away from Rose, though there’s a glimmer of a smile on his face. 

“You will see it,” Rose promises earnestly, then glances around for a moment. “No Bede?” He asks, sounding suddenly sad, turning to you. You shake your head, and Rose frowns for a moment. “That’s…really too bad. I would have loved to have a moment with him right now. There’s so much I want to say to him…” He pauses for a long moment, but recovers. “But I suppose it can’t be helped.” Rose instead turns next to the last of your crowd, Professor Magnolia. He takes a step towards her, as if to embrace her, but stops in his tracks when Professor Magnolia raises one hand, then extends it to Rose. 

“I’m not as touchy-feely as these young kids are these days,” she laughs, and everyone laughs with her. “But I’m happy to be offering you my congratulations on your freedom, Rose. Try to stay out of trouble in the future.” 

Rose laughs a little at this, rubbing the back of his head. 

“I’ll try,” he agrees; you’re surprised by how boyish and youthful he looks at Magnolia’s slight scolding. But then he turns back to you and reaches out for you, drawing you back to his side. “I have the feeling that I’ll be relying on this little lady for that, though.” You snort and roll your eyes, pressing a quick kiss to Rose’s cheek. 

“I’ll do my best,” you promise. 

In the background, you can see Oleana actually tearing up, wiping furiously at the mascara that’s starting to run from her eyes. Besides her outburst of fury, bordering on insanity, when Eternatus had manipulated her into battling you, it’s the first real emotion you’ve ever seen from her. 

And behind her, you see someone in a pea coat and hat, watching carefully. When he sees you watching him back, though, he turns and disappears into the crowd.


	24. The Captain's Table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter for today to make up for the one I slept through yesterday!  
> Thank you to everyone for the well-wishes with return to work!! I really appreciate it and hope things end up going okay. If any of you are still out there working or dealing with the public I hope you're all staying safe, too!  
> Also I finished writing this story tonight (plenty of editing still to do) and wow, my heart. Things seem to be going well but there's still a little bit left...some things that need to be wrapped up and all

When Rose had said the first thing he was going to do was take you out to his favorite restaurant, you had assumed the ‘first thing’ bit was just a phrase he’d used to explain that it would be among the things he’d do immediately after release. But, in retrospect, you weren’t sure why you had been sure of this. After all, Rose’s idea of _immediately_ has proven, time and time again, to be _very_ immediate. 

And so it is that you’re walking, arm in arm with Rose, towards the Captain’s Table in Hulbury, which he’s called ahead to and rented out for the night. 

“This time, I’m going to do it right, and spend my time here on you,” he murmurs. 

There’s a veritable cacophony of press and fans that are following the both of you nearly everywhere you go. You’re surprised that they had managed to find you here - though, really, Rose had announced his plans a few days ago, so the more attentive of the reporters would have been able to figure out where to catch him next as soon as the news began to spread that he had been declared not guilty. 

You can see why Rose had come up with that ridiculous incognito outfit to be able to garner a little bit of peace. Though, you think to yourself, it wasn’t wholly ridiculous; the sweatshirt was appealing on him, but you’d trade the shorts for a different pair. Rose holds the door to the Captain’s Table open for you, and you smile and thank him as you pass into the restaurant. 

“Let me take your jacket, darling,” he murmurs, helping you shrug out of it. The waitresses greet the both of you eagerly, shaking your hand and Rose’s hand and congratulating the two of you on not only Rose’s newfound freedom, but also on your burgeoning relationship. 

“We have a special after-dinner surprise for the both of you,” the hostess smiles. “The usual table for you, Rose?” 

“That would be lovely,” he agrees, offering you his arm. You take it, and he escorts you to the back of the restaurant, to the first table you had sat at with him, so many months ago now. 

Rose pulls out your chair, and only moves to his once you’ve sat down. He hands you a menu, and takes one for himself, though he doesn’t really look through it - you’re sure he already knows what he wants. Instead, he folds his hands on the table, smiling at you for a brief moment, then turning to look out the window. There’s a beautiful view of Hulbury, you note, distracted for a moment from the printed offerings as you follow his gaze. 

“I didn’t know if I’d ever see this again,” he murmurs, his eyes sparkling. “I know it’s not exactly the single most beautiful view in all of Galar, but…it’s one of my favorite views, all the same.” You turn from the view to look at Rose; he’s beautiful in the evening light, the sun playing on his features, highlighting his gorgeous skin tone. The look on his face, of absolute joy, is enough to make your heart swell and break at the same time. 

You reach across the table and set one of your hands atop where his are folded. 

“I’m so glad for you, Rose,” you tell him earnestly. “You’ve been through so much over the last year. The fact that you suffered so much in the grip of Eternatus, and then suffered more as Galar imprisoned you and tried to prosecute you for something you didn’t do…” you trail off for a moment. “You deserve to see all your favorite views of Galar. All of it and more. You deserve your freedom.” 

Rose turns back to you, smiling, and places one hand over yours gently. 

“Thank you, my darling. But you know, it wasn’t all bad, being in prison,” he reassures you. “I got to know you, for starts. And being made me really think about my life, re-evaluate my priorities. I don’t know if I would have done that otherwise. But now I know what’s really important to me in life.” 

“And what is important to you in life, Rose?” You ask. It’s hard to tell with the glow of the sun on his skin, but you think Rose may be blushing. 

“I’ve spent my whole life always working and always trying to serve Galar. I still want to serve Galar,” he clarifies. “But I want to see the world now. And I want to focus on my happiness more, too. I want to find my person, the one human being out there who will love me unconditionally, who I can love unconditionally back. I want to settle down, maybe have a family. I don’t know yet if a family will involve children of my own, or maybe it’s just our Pokemon that we raise, or maybe it’s even something else, a found family. But I want that for myself.” He turns to you, hope in his eyes. “And I was wondering if you could see yourself wanting that, too?” 

You smile at Rose, squeezing his hand in yours reassuringly. 

“I could definitely see myself wanting that, my dear Rose,” you answer him honestly. “And I could definitely see myself wanting that with you.” His eyes light up and a smile breaks across his face. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. 

Instead, he closes his mouth, still smiling, and shakes his head a little, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. 

It’s probably the first time you’ve ever seen Rose speechless, you realize. 

“Pardon the interruption,” a waitress says, bustling up to the table. “But do we have drink orders for tonight?” 

“A pitcher of ice water, please,” Rose begins, recovering his voice, then turning to you. “And a bottle of your finest wine from the Aquacorde Vintage, if my darling desires?” 

You can feel your cheeks turning red at his sweet words. 

“I would love that,” you agree, remembering how delicious the wine had been last time you’d enjoyed it with Rose. 

“And I do mean your finest bottle,” Rose adds, looking at the waitress, who nods knowingly. The implication is clear - he doesn’t care about the price tag, only how much you were going to enjoy it. 

“I’ll be back with that shortly, and I’ll take your orders then,” the waitress says with a smile. 

“Thank you,” you and Rose both chorus together. 

You turn back to Rose, still smiling. 

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Rose says, withdrawing his hands from yours and fishing in his pocket for something. “I - well, ah, I have a little something for you,” he explains, pulling out a small velvet jewelry box. You glance up at Rose, surprised; it looks suspiciously like a ring box. Your surprise must show on your face, because Rose adds quickly, “Don’t worry - I’m not proposing to you! Not yet, at least. It’s still a little early for that, even for me,” he laughs, and you laugh with him, relieved and glad he could poke a little fun at his tendency to rush into things. You feel your shoulders relax; you hadn’t even been aware they’d tensed. “I just wanted to get you something little to say thank you. I planned to give this to you regardless of the outcome of the trial, but I’ll admit, it feels really good to be doing it here as a free man.” His hand reaches across the table, and he offers you the box. You take it with a quiet thank you and open it carefully. 

It’s not a ring that’s in the box - it’s a necklace, as it turns out. The chain is silver, dainty, and in the middle sits a beautifully sculpted rose pendant. Right at the heart of the rose is a gorgeous stone; it flickers in the evening light, reflecting the sun back to you, sparkling. 

It occurs to you that the stone is probably a diamond. 

“Rose,” you murmur. “It’s beautiful.” You finally look up to the man, who’s watching you intently. 

“You like it?” He asks. 

“I love it,” you agree. 

“I’m so glad,” he beams. “Can I help you put it on?” 

“Yes, please,” you agree eagerly, handing the small box back to Rose. His big fingers work carefully, lifting the dainty chain from the box and undoing the clasp on the back of the necklace. He stands, crossing behind you, and you move your hair out of the way for him. Carefully, Rose drapes the necklace over you, and secures the clasp in back of your neck. Satisfied that he’d secured it well, Rose walks around you to see you from the front. You turn a little so he can see you easier, and one of his broad hands moves to your shoulder, touching you lightly, while the other hand moves to his lips in thought. 

“It’s beautiful on you,” he pronounces. 

“I love it,” you repeat yourself, your fingers reaching up to touch the necklace. “A rose from my Rose.” 

He lowers his hand from his lips and chuckles a little. 

“I wanted a little piece of me for you to be able to keep close to your heart,” he murmurs. 

“That’s so romantic,” you say a little breathlessly. Rose’s eyes sparkle down at you. You stand and move in close to him, running your hands up his shoulders. “Thank you, Rose.” 

“You’re welcome, darling,” Rose says, smiling fondly at you. You press your lips to his in a kiss - it’s gentle and chaste, and when you pull away, the golden rays of the evening sun make his eyes look even more extraordinary. “It really does look beautiful on you, though.” 

“Thank you,” you murmur again; Rose presses a kiss to your forehead and moves back to his seat with a smile. You sit down again as well, and almost as if on cue, the waitress from earlier appears with a pitcher of ice water and a bottle of red wine, which she hands to Rose. 

“Will this do for tonight, sir?” She asks. Rose turns the bottle over in his hands, reading the label, then hands it back to the waitress. 

“Yes, I think that will be perfect,” Rose says with a small, polite smile. The waitress sets the bottle on the table, twisting a wine bottle opener into it, and pops the bottle open with skill. She pours a little into a wine glass already set at your place, and a little into one at Rose’s, then asks if you’re ready to order. 

“Oh, um,” you stutter, grabbing the menu and looking through it. You’d been so wrapped up in your time with Rose, you hadn’t really paid attention to their offerings. 

“I can be back,” the waitress says astutely. 

“Could you please bring some seafood canapes as an appetizer?” Rose asks politely, not even glancing at the menu. 

“Of course,” the waitress agrees. “Anything else?” She adds, glancing to you. 

Truthfully, you’re not even sure what a canape is, and there’s not a picture in the menu to help you figure it out. But if Rose likes it, you’re hopeful you’ll like it, too 

“Could you make it a double order, so there’s enough for both of us?” You ask. 

“Of course,” the waitress says again. “I’ll be back with those soon.” And she bustles off once again. 

Under the table, something brushes against your foot, then presses against you more fully. It takes a moment for you to realize it’s Rose, playing footsie with you under the table. You flash him a smile over your menu as he runs his foot up the back of your calf teasingly. 

“Anything that you would recommend?” You ask Rose, letting your foot brush back against his. You’re interested in his recommendation, but also a little concerned that you recognize only about half of what’s on the menu. 

“The seafood tagliatelle is always a delight,” Rose murmurs, his eyes soft. You lower your menu and ask, shyly, 

“What’s a tagliatelle?” 

You’re blushing and half expecting Rose to laugh at you, but his smile stays soft. 

“It’s just tagliatelle, and it’s a pasta dish,” he informs you, then seeing your blush, adds, “but don’t worry. I know it can feel like a lot at first, between everything - the media, the constant attention, the fancy things you’re expected to know. It’ll all start to feel easier soon.” 

“Thank you, Rose,” you sigh, then laugh a little. “I’m always forgetting that you haven’t been doing all…this,” you say, gesturing vaguely at your menu, “for your whole life.” 

“Not at all,” Rose laughs. “I think I told you before, but mining was brutal, and I didn’t make particularly good pay, either. And I definitely didn’t know what tagliatelle was then, either.” 

“How did you get out from the mines and start Macro Cosmos?” You ask. Rose’s smile fades. 

“I got tired of seeing people around me come down with coughs,” he says. Your brows furrow. 

“Coughs?” You echo. 

“Miner’s lung,” he explains. “Or black lung. Whatever you want to call it.” He touches he lips again, looking solemn. “I knew if I stayed there, I’d get it one day, too, and it’s almost always deadly at a relatively young age, in the end. So I started working on my own plans after work, putting ideas into action - doing anything to get out.” 

“I’m glad you did,” you murmur. 

“Me, too,” Rose admits. “If I hadn’t - well, I would almost certainly have the first symptoms of miner’s lung by now. And who knows how long we’d have left after that.” He pauses for a moment, looking out the window again. You watch the gorgeous man before you, deep in thought. 

“Rose,” you finally ask. “Is that why you’re so invested in energy?” 

Rose turns back to you, a small smile on his lips. 

“Beautiful, strong, and smart, too,” he murmurs. You’re sure you feel your face heating up, and not just from the evening sun on your skin. “Surprisingly few people have been able to put two and two together, but yes. I think it’s a modern day atrocity that we continue to send people to the mines to work there. We condemn these people to years of hard labor for meager wages, barely able to provide for themselves let alone a family, and ask them to sacrifice themselves to a horrible disease so that Galar can have enough energy. In a beautiful, modernized society we should be embarrassed that we can’t take care of these people. We should have more than enough clean energy to ensure that nobody has to live their life like that.” His voice grows more passionate as he speaks, and his gestures grow increasingly broader, until he sets his hand down firmly on the table to emphasize his last words. 

“You’re absolutely right, Rose,” you agree, reaching for his hand. He turns it over so you can slip your hand into his, and you see his whole body relax at your touch. “That’s a really beautiful vision, you know. I can see why so many people, Oleana included, have believed whole-heartedly in you.” You run your fingers up and down along his open hand. 

“Thank you,” Rose says. “It’s something I believe in so strongly. Eliminating Galar’s need for coal power through increasing our production of sustainable energy is the one thing I want to accomplish before I die.” You trace your fingers along his palm, up and down his fingers, and a moment of silence stretches out between the two of you. “I still have the calluses on my hands, you know,” he muses. “From mining.” As you graze your fingers back along his palm, you feel them - they’re not thick, but they’re there, at the bases of his fingers, and you spend a long moment touching them. 

The waitress re-appears, this time carrying two platters. You and Rose let go of each other, making way for the food. A canape, you learn as the waitress sets down your platter, is a little open-faced biscuit, each loaded up with a different type of seafood and a heaping mix of complementary garnishes and sauces. 

“Are we ready to order?” The waitress asks. 

“What do you think, darling?” Rose asks you. You smile at him and nod, ordering the seafood tagliatelle. Rose orders the seafood involtini. You again have literally no idea what that even is, but both thank the waitress again as she departs. 

“Speaking of energy,” Rose says, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I wanted to talk with you about the stored energy at the power plant.” 

Your stomach does flip flops at his words. 

“I’m all ears,” you manage, though your mouth has gone suddenly dry. 

“I’ve thought about what you said, about needing to go slowly and bring in experts and second opinions and failsafes,” he says. “And I know, deep down, that you’re right. And I know, too, that I could never willingly do something that would put you - or Galar - at risk again. I’ll admit, it’s not in my nature to move slowly. You might have noticed,” he says with a wry smile, pulling at his long lock of hair. You laugh aloud at this. 

“Maybe,” you agree. 

“But I’m going to do my best for you,” he promises, grabbing one canape and popping it into his mouth whole. You take one off your plate and do the same. What’s on it is as much a mystery as what kind of cheeses were on the charcuterie platters Rose had gotten to share with you, but it’s absolutely delicious nonetheless. And chewing your food is keeping you from smiling like an idiot with relief and pride at the man across from you. “I might still push things too quickly for comfort sometimes, or come up with dumb ideas. But if I do, I’m hoping either you or one of these experts will tell me. Speaking of which, I’m planning to reach out to a few internationally-renowned scientists in their fields and ask them if they’re interested in helping on the project, either as consultants or team leads. I’m going to visit the power plant at some point in the next few days, to gather some data from the computers there to share with them so they can have an idea about the scope of the project. But don’t worry - I’m not doing anything with any of it, just gathering numbers,” he adds quickly with a smile. He rubs his foot against yours again and asks gently, “Okay?” 

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. 

“Yes. Definitely okay. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that,” you admit to him, unable to stop the huge smile spreading across your face as you grab another canape. “All of that. The bit about the experts, the consultants, the failsafes. And I’ll be more than happy to help keep you on track as things evolve. Gently, of course,” you laugh. 

“Good,” Rose beams. His fingers move to his wine glass, lifting it carefully. “Then if we’re on the same page, may I propose a toast?” 

You lift yours as well, nodding your encouragement. 

“To all the new hope you’ve created, my darling. For me, for my career, for Galar itself. And to the brilliant new future we’ll share together, because of that hope.” He holds his wine glass out, awaiting your response. You tap your glass to his again, producing a melodical clink, and echo him, 

“To new hope and our new future.” 

Rose smiles as you both take a sip, and then says, “Now, we have a world tour to plan together, as promised, my darling.”


	25. Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're into the last few chapters now guys!! Despite the name of this chapter it is actually not NSFW...next chapter is though lmao  
> Thanks as always to everyone who has been enjoying this and reading and commenting, you are all amazing! I'm back to work for the first time since the pandemic started tomorrow, and that's definitely making me pretty nervous tbh, but I'm reminding myself of how great it will be to be able to get home and hear what you all think of this chapter and upload another one or two, so thanks for being such an amazing community! <33

Rose had invited you back to Rose Towers with him that night, and you’d agreed, finding it hard to imagine being willing to part after working so hard to be together again. He’d informed you he occupies the top-floor executive penthouse suite, just below the roof of the building. The roof - it feels like a lifetime since you were there last. The lift you’re in slows as you reach the floor, chiming before, a few seconds later, the double doors slide open. You step through, and, almost as if reading your mind, Rose murmurs into your ear, 

“I’d like to take you upstairs to the roof again someday. I don’t think you got to really appreciate the view the last time you were here.” 

“It was a little hard to enjoy myself then,” you laugh. “But honestly, Rose, I’m exhausted. Maybe another time?” 

"Sounds good,” Rose laughs. “I’m exhausted, too. In every sense of the word. Bed?” 

“Bed,” you agree. Rose smiles and guides you, hand around your waist, through his penthouse. He’s eager for the contact, as though he’s almost afraid someone will take you away from him again. His penthouse suite is bigger than many houses, you realize, and probably the most luxurious-looking living accommodation you can imagine. There are enormous floor-to-ceiling windows out to Galar at every wall, some apparently turned opaque, while some have been left translucent. There’s a plethora of rooms off of the main room; you spy one room with a library and another with an enormous jacuzzi, for starts, as you walk through the main area. Rose’s bedroom is also within a separate room, behind massive carved wooden double doors, and the room itself is every bit as luxurious as the rest of the suite - with another amazing view of Galar, to boot. 

You know Rose is rich. You’ve been through his wealth both in your head and out loud with him quite a few times. But it still throws you off a little to see quite this much luxury and excess. For a moment, it almost makes you intimidated of the man before you, as if you really don’t know him at all. And, a part of you realizes, you really don’t know him all that well yet, despite the developing relationship between the two of you. 

“Your place is…really nice,” you offer, glancing around the room. It’s the understatement of the year, but all the same, Rose turns to smile at you. 

“Thank you,” he says, politely at first, but he catches your nervousness in the way you glance around the room, the way you’re holding your own arms. “Hey,” he coos, drawing near to you and placing his hands on your shoulders. He gives you an affectionate rub up and down your arms. “Like I said earlier, I know this is all a lot. You’ll get used to it, darling. And until then, I’m here for you.” 

You nod; the way Rose cared for you felt surprisingly grounding. You’re not sure you’ll ever get used to all the luxury around you, but it’s encouraging to know that Rose believes in you. And it’s also encouraging to know that he expects you to be around long enough to get used to it. 

“I’m sure I should have another pair of pajamas here for you,” Rose is saying, pulling away from you and moving to an enormous dresser. He searches in one drawer, eventually pulling out a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt and holding them each up in turn. You’re relieved to see that they look entirely normal, not designer-brand. “They’ll probably be a little big on you, but -” 

“They look cozy,” you grin, and Rose hands them to you with a smile. You change quickly, eager to be in soft and comfortable clothes. The shirt, you note as you pull it over your head, smells rather like Rose, even after who knows how many weeks of sitting in the drawer. When you turn around, Rose has changed into pajama pants as well, though he hasn’t bothered with a shirt. 

“Do you mind if I sleep shirtless tonight?” Rose asks. 

“Definitely not,” you say, eyeing his soft body with appreciation. Rose chuckles quietly at this, moving to the bed and flopping back onto it. It’s enormous, loaded up with pillows and comforters, and looks delightfully comfortable. Rose pats the empty space just next to him, and you waste no time in moving to lay down by his side, draping one arm across his bare chest. 

“I know it sounds silly, but I was really nervous about being released,” he breathes, turning his head to look at you. 

“What were you so nervous about?” You ask, remembering your earlier conversation by video chat. “The whole energy plant thing? You seemed to have a pretty good plan for that.” Rose smiles. 

“No, it wasn’t that. Promise not to laugh?” 

“Promise,” you agree. Rose hums deep in his chest, turning on his side and wrapping one arm around you in return. He buries his nose in your shoulder for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. 

“I was really afraid that Eternatus would be out here, waiting for me again,” he admits into your skin. “I had asked Leon to catch it, but he couldn’t, and while you and Hop were able to confront it and drive it off with Zacian and Zamazenta, it’s still out there, somewhere.” You sit up a little, turning to look at him. Did he not know that you’d caught it? “If it…took over me once, there’s no reason why it couldn’t do it again - and it might be much easier for it the second time. It knows me now, you see? I don’t really know what it would want with me,” he laughs. “But…it was a scary thought, imagining not being myself again, hurting the ones I want most to protect and care for.” He reaches up with one hand, stroking your hair. 

“That must have been terrifying,” you murmur, stroking Rose’s hair in return, even daring to play with his long lock of hair the way he so often did. 

“It was,” he agrees. “It…still is. I don’t know if I feel entirely safe, just because one day has gone okay.” 

You take a deep breath. 

“Rose,” you murmur. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about anymore.” 

“But you don’t know that,” he sighs. 

“I…kind of do,” you admit. “Because I caught Eternatus that day. When Leon couldn’t. It didn’t run off the way Zacian and Zamazenta did. I know there’s been a lot of different versions of the story going around…” 

“Wait,” Rose says, pulling away and propping himself up on one elbow. “You caught Eternatus?” 

“Yeah,” you agree. Guiltily, you admit to yourself that you hadn’t yet let it out of its Pokeball - but that’s a problem for another day, you decide, and not one to discuss with Rose right now. “I thought you knew this whole time.” Rose puts one hand to his forehead, flopping down flat on his back. 

“Fuck,” he breathes, in what you’re pretty sure is the first time you’ve ever heard him curse. Then he starts to laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. You reach out, touching your hand to his chest lightly, threading your fingers into the dark hair that grows there. 

“Is everything okay?” You ask, a bit nervously. 

“Arceus, darling, everything is great,” he laughs, pulling you on top of his chest. “I honestly had no idea. You caught Eternatus. My darling has the Ultimate Pokemon now.” 

“It won’t hurt you again,” you promise him. Rose smiles up at you and pulls you into a deep kiss. 

“You are consistently my hero,” he mumbles against your lips, then pulls away. “The Ultimate Pokemon, awakened and within your ownership - do you know what kind of power you have?” 

“We’re not using it for any energy schemes,” you warn him quickly, pulling away and frowning down at him. “It’s a living thing, and even if it is quote-unquote mine, it’s way too strong for us to control safely -” 

“Darling, darling,” Rose laughs, leaning up and chasing your lips, eventually catching you in another kiss. “I’m not particularly interested in playing around with such a powerful being directly a second time. Its energy, I think we can use safely. But I did learn my lesson about Eternatus itself earlier. Believe it or not.” He pulls you into a deeper kiss, and you relax against him. 

“It’s such a relief to hear you say that,” you sigh, snuggling into his shoulder. Rose kisses your forehead, then rolls just a little to reach for a remote, which he uses to turn the lights off. Apparently, when you’re this rich, you have more options than just a light switch, you think to yourself. 

“It’s such a relief to hear that my fears about Eternatus are unfounded after all,” he breathes into your hair. A long moment of silence stretches out between the two of you, and all you hear is Rose’s breathing, growing slow but steady. Although you feel a dimly burning desire for the man beside you, your eyelids are growing heavy. The day has been long and brutal. “Hey,” Rose suddenly murmurs, breaking the silence. You start a little; you’d nearly fallen asleep. “Oleana’s already booked my schedule for tomorrow with some business things I need to attend to after being away so long, but maybe I can see you on my lunch break?” 

You smile sleepily into Rose’s skin. 

“I have training, but I’m sure I can get away for long enough if you tell me when your lunch break is. What about after your work day is over? Can I see you then, too?” 

“Ah, I’m actually taking a Corviknight taxi over to Hammerlocke. I’m hoping to start getting some numbers on the energy in the plant tomorrow evening, and then I should be finishing up and heading home tomorrow. Could I see you then?” 

“Sounds perfect,” you murmur. Rose hums and presses his lips to your forehead tenderly one more time. Once again, you listen to his breathing slow, becoming deep but regular. But exhausted as you are, you can’t quite fall asleep, and it’s because you have both nagging fears and a deep guilt in the back of your mind. The deep guilt comes when you consider that you’ve essentially ignored Eternatus for the last couple weeks. But, really, you’re terrified of seeing your own Pokemon again; you worry that you’ll be unleashing a second apocalypse by letting it back into the world. And even though Rose has given you his assurances that he would be careful, something about him returning to the site of the summoning of the Darkest Day makes you terribly anxious. But you can’t quite put your finger on it, and so you eventually fall asleep in his arms instead.


	26. Rose's Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first part of this chapter up to the first line break is not NSFW, but then the section in between the 1st and 2nd line break is! If you don't want to read smut, go ahead and keep scrolling towards the bottom of the chapter and just pick up after the line break to rejoin the story with pretty much no actual story line lost. The smut in this chapter doesn't specifically gender MC, in case that matters to you! i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶a̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶k̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶

You’re able to slip away from training for about an hour the next day, and you take the monorail back to Rose Tower, re-reading Rose’s text. He’d told you to meet him for a lunch in his office, which was on the floor just below his living quarters. The front desk lady waves you through, and you step into the lift alone, pressing the button for Rose’s penthouse. As the lift rises, you reminisce on your very different experiences on this elevator so far; just last night, you’d been hanging on Rose’s arm, giggling and murmuring with him and exchanging kisses. It was a far cry from standing, back to back with Hop, Pokeballs in hand, as Macro Cosmos employees poured in at nearly every floor to challenge you. 

The lift stops after what feels like a nearly endless ride, a chime announcing your arrival followed by the lift doors sliding open a few seconds later. 

Rose’s office is more minimalist than his living space - he’s got a large steel-gray desk, a handful of houseplants for some greenery, and a couple chairs. There are quite a few bookcases from floor to ceiling, each stacked with books, and, as you’re beginning to expect from Rose Tower, a spectacular view of the metropolis of Wyndon below. 

Rose is seated at his desk, bent over some paperwork, but when he hears the elevator doors open, he raises his head, then breaks into a soft smile when he sees you. 

“Darling,” he greets you, standing and walking around his desk towards you, arms open. You rest your hands on his shoulders, and he pulls you into a kiss by your hips. He presses his lips to you deeply, passionately, hungrily, before pulling away, still holding you close to him. “Welcome to my domain,” he smiles, gesturing at the office, then adds proudly, “This room is where all the big decisions for Macro Cosmos happens. I’m so glad you were able to join me today, darling.” 

“It’s good to be here, Rose,” you tell him, putting a gentle hand on his chest. Rose presses his hand over it, smiling at you. “And I’m glad I can see you in your domain, too,” you laugh, using the words he’d used. “You look happy to be back here. And being here seems to suit you, somehow, too.” 

“I am happy to be back here. You know, I’d like to come see you in the stadium sometime, during one of your training sessions. Well, if you’re okay with me being in the stadium, that is,” he adds quickly. “I know that might be a hard thing for you, in light of all the difficulty you had….” You immediately remember the paralyzing fear and frustration of the flashbacks in your earliest days at Wyndon Stadium. The flashbacks were gone for now, but you still had bad dreams, sometimes. At your worst, at your most anxious, you still felt on edge walking out on the stadium some days, but you had another therapy appointment soon. And even the nervousness and edginess you fight through now is a world different than where you’d started. 

“No, things are better now for me. It’s not like I’m magically cured - some days are still tough. But I’d love to have you cheering me on someday, Rose,” you tell him. 

“Well, I suppose that’s even assuming the League agrees to let me back on League-owned premises,” Rose smiles a bit ruefully. “So let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet, and let’s enjoy some lunch instead. I ordered some Johto takeout,” he offers. 

“That sounds amazing right now,” you grin.  


* * *

  


“It sounds like you’ve had a pretty great first day back,” you beam, finishing your takeout box of yakisoba noodles. You had started your lunch in one of the chairs opposite Rose’s desk, but it had quickly felt like more of a business meeting than an affectionate lunch, and there was no way to reach far enough across the imposing desk to hold hands or exchange other gentle touches. You’d remedied the problem by walking around to Rose’s side and taking a seat on the desk. He hadn’t complained. 

“My reception by both my employees and my former business colleagues has been excellent. If I’m honest, It’s been a better first day back than I could have hoped for,” he admits, popping the last of some square-shaped sushi into his mouth. He chews a moment, then swallows, and adds, “And, of course, it’s even better with you here now. To have someone as beautiful, strong, kind, and loving as you enjoying a lunch with me here in my office…” He takes a deep breath, touching one of his hands, broad and warm, to your thigh. “And not just here in my office, but sitting on my desk like that…” His hand slides up your thigh slowly, sensuously. 

“Rose,” you smile coyly, setting down your takeout box. “I’m glad you’re happy to have me here. Exceptionally happy, if I may say so.” 

Rose smirks up at you, his other hand moving to your other thigh. Gently, he uncrosses your thighs and spreads them open, then rolls his leather chair until he’s positioned between your legs. 

“I’ve always wanted to fuck somebody on this desk,” he says, his voice husky as he lifts one of your legs up, pressing a kiss to the inside of your thigh. He looks up at you through his dark eyelashes, his pupils blown with desire. 

“Mmm,” you hum, still smiling coyly. “Does my big CEO have a thing for office sex?” Rose takes a deep breath in at your words, turning to press another kiss to your thigh, though you can see the way he reddens at your words. 

You’re pretty sure that counts as a yes. 

“Would you be okay with it if I…” Rose begins, lowering your leg and moving his hands further up your thighs, until he’s undoing the button and fly of your pants. 

“Rose, wait,” you murmur, placing your hands over his. He stops his movements, looking up at you. “Couldn’t someone walk right in and see us?” 

“Well, ah - yes,” he admits shyly. You get the distinct impression that, as far as he’s concerned, that’s part of the fun of it. 

“Maybe we could do this another time, with a skirt or something?” You offer. “Or a dress. Something we could rearrange quickly if we need to. If someone walks in and I’ve got my jeans down, there’s no recovering from that.” 

“Right,” Rose says, buttoning your jeans back up. He’s blushing furiously now and not meeting your eyes, probably from the embarrassment of wanting something that had made you uncomfortable. You reach down and thread your fingers through the long part of his hair. 

“Hey,” you murmur; Rose looks up at you. “You know, all you have to do is unzip your pants a little and pull yourself out. And now that I’m thinking about it, I didn’t get to reciprocate with my mouth the other night.” You’re not sure how it’s possible, but Rose flushes an even darker shade of red. 

“I - I wouldn’t want to do anything that you’re not comfortable with,” Rose says. You smile gently at him. 

“I think, if someone interrupts our lunch, we’d have enough time between the elevator chiming and the doors opening to get you situated,” you offer. Rose leans his head forward into your stomach, taking a deep, steadying breath. 

“I would really, really like that,” he admits finally. “Is it something you’d like to do, too?” 

You guide his shoulder back so he’s not leaning into you anymore, then slide off the desk onto your feet and kneel before him. It’s cute, you think, the way he always asks explicitly for your consent. 

“I would, Rose,” you affirm; this time, you’re the one who presses a kiss to the inside of his thigh. Rose shudders under your touch. “Honestly, the idea of blowing Galar’s biggest CEO in his own office is pretty sexy.” 

“Yeah?” Rose breathes, shifting his hips a little closer to the edge of his chair. You hum a quiet affirmation, gazing up at him. He looks so sleek in his business clothes, you think, as you slide your hands up his thighs. You trace your fingers up his hips, then higher up, until you’re brushing over his belly where it hangs just slightly over his belt. Then you slowly slide further down until you’re palming his manhood, a little surprised to find that he’s already more than half-erect inside his pants. 

You touch him lightly at first, tracing your fingers over his shaft through the steel-gray of his clothes. Rose lets out a groan and bucks into your hand, eager for more contact. You oblige him, pressing further into him as you rub him up and down, and Rose lets out another low moan. You can feel him growing and hardening under your hand, until he’s tenting the fabric of his pants. When you glance up at him, you find that he’s watching you intently, the fingers of one hand touching over his lips while the other hand grips the armrest of his chair firmly. You smile and move closer to him, pressing your lips to the base of his shaft through the fabric, ghosting your lips up until you’re brushing them against his tip. 

“Can I pull your cock out?” You ask Rose, not moving your mouth away from the head of his manhood. Then, considering Rose’s newly-discovered kinky side, you decide to experimentally add, “Sir?” 

You can see Rose’s lips part as he lets out a heavy breath, then fists the hand on the armrest into your hair. Deciding to press your luck, you continue, 

“Or do you prefer daddy?” 

Rose’s jaw drops entirely, and he tips his head back, eyes fluttering shut. After a moment, he recovers, looking down at you with desire written across his face. 

“I’d prefer sir while we’re in the office,” he says, pulling on your hair enough to tilt your chin up to him. You smile - your bet on Rose’s kinky side had been right - and begin to unzip his pants carefully, not bothering with his hexagon-shaped belt buckle or the button. When his zipper is all the way down, Rose bats your fingers away with the hand that wasn’t fisted in your hair. He guides himself out of his pants, and you watch, entranced, as bit by bit his cock appears before you. 

“Oh, sir, you’re so big,” you moan. 

“Yes...you like that, don’t you?” Rose groans. “Do you think you can fit me in that pretty little mouth of yours, darling?” He asks, gripping himself at the base of his cock and angling himself so that his tip brushes against your lips. You press a quick kiss to him, and without pulling away, murmur, 

“I’ll do my best for you, sir.” Your hand replaces Rose’s on his shaft, and you open your mouth, enveloping his head. You give a few shallow bobs, swirling your tongue around his tip and spreading both your saliva and his precum over his manhood. Rose bucks his hips into your mouth, then the hand fisted in your hair pushes you further into him. You don’t resist, taking him deeply, until your lips meet the hand wrapped around his base. 

You settle into a steady rhythm, moving your hand in tandem with your mouth, pumping him up and down. Rose’s hand in your hair encourages you along, and his moans begin to fill the room. You’re certain he’s not going to last terribly long; the idea of getting sucked off in his office has him too worked up. The hand not pumping Rose’s thick shaft moves to caress his balls through the fabric of his pants, and Rose bucks up into your mouth again, pulling you down on his shaft so far that you choke and gag for a moment. 

And then the elevator dings across the room. 

You waste no time, pulling off of Rose’s cock with a wet pop. You fumble for a moment, trying to put him back into his pants, but he’s much too hard and engorged with need. Rose instead pushes you gently, hastening you under the desk, and you follow his lead, scrambling backward as quickly as you can. By the time you hear the soft hiss of the elevator doors opening, you’re completely under the desk, between Rose’s legs. Rose is pushed flush with the desk to hide himself, though his erection is still free and throbbing before you. At least the desk is deep enough to accommodate you, and it goes entirely to the floor all the way around, in case any visitors were inclined to count the pairs of shoes beneath the desk. 

“Mr. Rose, sir,” a smooth, male voice says. You feel overwhelmingly relieved that it’s not Oleana. 

“Mr. Justin,” Rose greets him smoothly, and there’s a rustle of papers on the desk above you. Rose is probably trying to act like he’d been organizing some of his paperwork while disguising the undoubted mess you’d left on his desk by sitting on it, you realize. The name Justin brings back a faint memory for you; you’re pretty sure this guy had been one of the people who’d fought you in the lift on the Darkest Day. 

“Are you available for our 1 o’clock meeting now?” 

“Of course,” Rose agrees. “Please, have a seat.” 

You feel your stomach turn. You have no idea how long a meeting between the two of them could take, and you had to be back at Wyndon Stadium by…you check your watch quickly. Oh. You had about a half hour. 

Fuck. 

“Thank you, Mr. Rose,” Justin is saying. “There’s a lot on the list of things I’d like to discuss today, but maybe let’s start by prioritizing a conversation regarding the futures and options related to Macro Cosmos Air?” You remember now - this guy had definitely rushed in to fight you, right before you’d made it to the top of the Tower. 

“I’d like to get to that today,” Rose is humming, and you hear the rustle of paper as he sets a few to the side. “But if I’m not misremembering, your annual review meeting with our investors is next Wednesday, isn’t it? Let’s go over some of the numbers behind our quarterly revenue and projections first.” 

It’s actually pretty sexy to hear Rose talking business, you think. Listening to him, you’re reminded once again that although his tendency to make quick, decisive decisions and move forward without hesitation has been driving you a little crazy for the past couple weeks, it’s actually a huge asset in his day to day life. After all, it’s what makes him the best businessman in the region; better than probably a hundred thousand others in Wyndon alone. 

And in front of you, his cock stands erect as ever, leaking precum from its tip. 

You reach up for Rose’s upper thigh, squeezing the soft flesh there tentatively. You’re genuinely torn on how to handle this. You could sit tight and wait for the meeting to finish, let Rose go soft and help tuck him back into his pants. Or you could tease him just a little, just enough to keep him on edge the entire time, and help him finish after. 

You’re trying your best to resist temptation when one of Rose’s hands drops down to his lap casually. Justin and Rose are both pulling up a file on their laptops to discuss the numbers. Rose’s hand moves to find your head, cupping the back of it and stroking your hair just a little, in that way of his that you’ve always found soothing, as if he’s trying to reassure you that he hasn’t forgotten about your plight under the desk. But his hand can’t stay there long, and he moves it back up to the top of his desk. 

“Now, Justin, I remember that we set ambitious goals for the third quarter,” Rose is murmuring; you can just imagine him, deep in thought, eyes scanning his laptop while one hand touches his lips. 

You’ve made up your mind. You don’t plan on letting him forget about you down here. 

You move forward, again squeezing the soft flesh of Rose’s inner thigh, and press your lips once more to the tip of his cock, lapping up the precum there. Then you slide his tip into your mouth and curl your hand around his base again. 

To your surprise, Rose is still speaking smoothly above you, voice not even hitching as he discusses the abrupt shift between third quarter performance, which had been excellent, and fourth quarter performance, which failed to meet projections. 

As Justin protests - something about the fourth quarter projections being unfairly high - you again take Rose to the hilt in your mouth, then rise up slowly, making sure to be completely silent as you move. You let the hand on Rose’s thigh again slide down, caressing his balls through the fabric of his pants. Above you, Rose tenses a little, but he counters Justin’s protest with a reminder that, as the President of Macro Cosmos, he always set targets deliberately higher than industry standard to encourage relentless growth and excellence in his subsidiary’s fields, and MCA had never had difficulty meeting these benchmarks before. 

It’s going to take a little bit more work than this to break him, you realize, and begin bobbing in a careful rhythm, up and down Rose’s cock. 

Justin is trying to protest, but Rose says, gently, 

“I’m not interested in excuses or in lowering my standards, Justin. I’m only interested in an open conversation with you on what changed between these two quarters, and how we can present it to our investors on Wednesday. And, of course, I’m interested in learning how I can help, um,” Rose finally stumbles as you increase your pace on him. You can see his belly where it hangs over his belt, rising and falling in a couple deep breaths as he tries to re-collect himself. “How I can help serve MCA’s needs to ensure we outperform our next quarterly target.” He saves himself relatively smoothly, but you don’t go easy on him, adding your hand in time with your mouth. 

Justin and Rose begin going over some numbers, with Rose asking question after question, Justin doing his best to explain the situation. Even though Rose has a lot of questions and is certainly disappointed with MCA’s recent performance, you can nonetheless hear his measured kindness to his subordinate, and it’s a relief to you. You couldn’t imagine how you could be with someone who was mean to people he didn’t have to be kind to. 

You keep your pace steady, keeping an eye on the way Rose’s belly rises and falls in increasingly short and heavy breaths. You can tell you’re starting to really get him hot and bothered. 

“...which is - um,” Rose is saying above you. “Er,” he adds, a long pause drawing out as he takes a few more breaths. “What was I saying, again?” He asks Justin, sounding a little sheepish. 

You slow down on Rose’s cock as Justin informs Rose of his last sentence, and Rose apologizes for being a little distracted. Even with your slower pace, Rose is worked into a frenzy. You pull him out of your mouth entirely and lick a stripe up the underside of his manhood, but even that is enough to make him twitch and jump. His cock is weeping and red with need. You decide to give him even more slack, releasing him from your hand as you press a kiss to his head again and moving back to caress his balls. 

Unexpectedly, Rose sets one hand in his lap again. He’s holding his phone, on which he’s managed to type out an unsent text message to you, which reads ‘call me’. You’re relieved he didn’t actually send the text; you can’t remember if your phone is on silent or not. 

You pull out your phone and scroll to your page with Rose’s texts, then press the call button on his contact info at the top of the page. Rose’s phone immediately begins to chime. 

“Pardon me, Mr. Justin, I’ve been expecting this call urgently,” he says, and answers. “Hello?” He asks. You stay silent, already aware of what Rose’s plan was going to be. “Oh - yes. I’m sorry to hear that.” He pauses again. “Yes, I can be there immediately.” Another pause. “Thank you.” He hangs up, and returns to his employee again. “I’m terribly sorry about this, Mr. Justin, but my presence is requested immediately elsewhere, and I’m afraid it’s a request I can’t refuse. Would you be able to videochat later tonight? I’ll be traveling to Hammerlocke and could use the time in the taxi to brainstorm with you some more.” 

“Oh, of course, Mr. Rose,” Justin is saying. You hear the scoot of the chair legs on the floor as Justin moves to stand again, and see Rose’s belly shift towards you as he leans forward, probably to shake hands. 

“Thank you for being so understanding,” Rose beams. “I’ll give you a call later tonight.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Justin says, then begins gathering up his things. You lap again at the head of Rose’s cock, and he twitches against you eagerly. But it’s not until you hear Justin’s receding footsteps, followed by the ding of the arrival of the elevator and the soft hiss as the doors open and close, that you move to envelope Rose in your mouth again. 

To your surprise, Rose pulls himself away abruptly, one hand around his shaft, and he scooches himself back away from you. You move out from under the desk, trying not to pay attention to how sore your legs had gotten from being curled up, and rise up onto your knees again. You place your elbows on Rose’s thighs, still parted for you, and smile up at him mischievously. He scowls down at you for a moment. 

“You’ve been very bad, darling, haven’t you?” He asks, but his eyes quickly soften and his scowl turns into a smile of his own. 

“You can punish me later,” you tell him with a smirk, then add, “sir.” Rose’s lips part and you move back in towards his cock, intent on finishing your job. But Rose catches your chin in one hand, pulling you to look back up at him, keeping you from reaching your prize. 

“Hang on, dear,” Rose purrs. “I’d like to turn around and face towards the windows. Let all of Wyndon watch as you suck me off.” 

“Oh,” you say, blushing a little and squirming. You’re not sure if you’re okay with that - one photo from the media, and your career is over. As if reading your mind, Rose adds, 

“Don’t worry, darling, nobody can actually see in these windows. They’ve got a special coating.” Well, that made sense as to why Rose Tower looked the way it did from the outside. “Would you -” he begins to ask for consent, but you’re a step ahead of him. 

“Yes, that’s fine then,” you agree with a smile. Rose turns his executive chair around and you move with him, placing yourself again between his legs. Rose laughs a little at your mutual eagerness, but it’s not long before he’s moaning loudly again as you grab him by the base and sink your mouth down his length again. He’s worked up and has been teased for far too long, and you set a quick rhythm, eager to give him the release he desired. 

Rose moans, his hips beginning to buck into your mouth erratically. You try to hold him down with one hand on his hips while continuing to work his manhood with the other, but he’s back in a frenzy, desperate for more contact. You move faster, and Rose continues to try to buck into you, one hand on the back of your head, the other gripping his armrest tightly. He moans your name loudly, and you’re grateful his office is the only one on this floor. 

“Oh, Arceus,” he groans. “I’m so close - I -” 

“Cum in my mouth,” you say, pulling away just long enough to manage the words before returning to your punishing pace. Rose lets out a loud, wordless groan, his hips bucking into your mouth as he follows your instructions. His manhood twitches and jumps as spurt after spurt of his hot cum fills your mouth, and you swallow it down, eyes on Rose’s face. His lips are parted, jaw a little tight, and his eyes have fluttered closed; somehow, he even manages to make orgasming look pretty, you think. 

You swallow down the last of Rose’s cum, licking him clean before sliding your lips off his member. Rose’s eyelids flutter open, and he glances down at you, still breathing heavily. You smile up at him, your hands moving back to both his thighs and giving him a reassuring squeeze. Rose smiles back at you dreamily. You press another quick kiss to the tip of his manhood, but he’s already beginning to go soft, and instead, you move to help tuck him back into his pants and underwear, making sure to zip him up afterwards, too. 

Rose reaches out to you wordlessly with both of his arms, that same dreamy expression on his face. You climb up into his lap, and Rose pulls you tightly against him. 

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” He sighs happily into your hair. You press a kiss to his cheek. One of his hands reaches for the necklace he’d given you, and he turns the rose pendant over between his fingers a little absent-mindedly. “I promise, as soon as I’m back in Wyndon, I’m going to have you over and treat you like the queen you are.” 

“That sounds lovely,” you smile. Rose hums and squeezes you just a little tighter. “Rose,” you sigh, your mind already on other things. “As much as I’d love to stay here with you, I need to get back to training and you have to get back to being Galar’s top businessman.” 

“Oh! Of course,” Rose exclaims. “What time are you supposed to be back in the stadium?” 

You check your watch. 

“Uh, now,” you say, a little sheepishly, moving to stand up. Rose stands as well, smoothing down the front of his pants quickly. It’s impossible to tell he was sporting an enormous boner just a few minutes ago. 

“Head up to the roof, and I’ll call my personal contact to get you a taxi,” Rose says. “There’s a little bit of the dome that rolls back, so they can land up there. It’ll be much faster than going all the way down to the streets and waiting for the monorail.” He presses a quick kiss to your lips, then grabs his phone and pulls up a contact screen, ushering you towards the elevator with a light pressure on the small of your back.  


* * *

  


Hours later, after your training winds down and after you’ve showered, you get a text from Rose. 

_Heading out to Hammerlocke now, darling. It was lovely to see you today…thank you for all your attentions. I can’t wait to reciprocate <3_

You text him back quickly. 

_Safe travels, my dear Rose, and I hope your chat with Justin goes better than it did earlier today <3 Looking forward to that reciprocation ;)_

But after you send the text, you stand outside the stadium, anxiety swallowing you up. Rose is fundamentally a good man; you believe that wholeheartedly. But there’s something about him going back to the power plant almost as immediately as possible that’s making you nervous. You can’t put your finger on it. 

Would it be absurd to go to Hammerlocke, too, and follow him? You feel awful about even thinking of the idea, in one sense. You’ve been telling yourself this entire time that you trust Rose, that you have to believe in him. Following him is borderline unacceptable behavior. It’s what significant others with control issues do. But on the flip side, you remember the dread in your stomach, the terrible feeling as you and Hop stood outside of your house in Postwick, waiting for a Corviknight taxi to even make it out to you in such a rural area. And then there had been that entire flight over to Hammerlocke, during which you and Hop pleaded with the driver and Arceus himself to get you there as quickly as possible. The hours had felt interminable, and you’d been terrified of what could be happening while you were powerless in the air. 

Was it so irrational to not want to be hours away again in case something happened? You can trust Rose and still want to be there as Champion to provide backup just in case. It’s your duty to protect Galar. Right? 

You hail a taxi, promise yourself that this is the only time you’re going to do this, and make a mental note to talk to your therapist about this sometime. You genuinely can’t figure out how to reconcile your different roles on your own, and you’re pretty sure that the trauma you’ve been through has something to do with it.


	27. Hammerlocke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PREPARE FOR FEELING SOME FEELS  
> Also as I'm getting down to the last few chapters here, I want to mention that I have LOVED sharing this journey with all of you. It's been so fun day by day to chat with you all and come up with ridiculous things that make us laugh and overall just enjoy Rose as a character. I'll still be posting on AO3, but if you want to keep in touch with me more, I'm most active on my Tumblr, where I go by the same handle as here (apharine - idk how to insert links in chapter notes, but if you copy apharine.tumblr.com into your browser you'll find me)! I will gladly follow any of you back and have already gotten to know quite a few of you all there which I'm so grateful for! I'm also accepting requests for Chairman Rose drabbles/headcanons on Tumblr because I already miss writing him so much ;_; but if you have other SwSh characters you'd like me to write a drabble or headcanon on you can request there too!! <33

When you actually arrive in Hammerlocke, you can’t help but feel a little silly. There wasn’t a massive swirling black cloud above the city. Citizens weren’t fleeing in terror. 

It was just a normal evening, and you were bloody starving. 

You pull out your phone and text Raihan, hoping he’ll want to meet up for some dinner.   


* * *

  


Raihan was free to meet you for dinner, and you two settled on the Battle Cafe. Even though you weren’t planning to actually have any fights, it was still the best food around, as far as the two of you were concerned. 

“Didn’t expect you to show up on my doorstep tonight,” Raihan chirps, pulling you into a quick hug as he arrives at the table. “Just finished my training for the day, actually, so your timing was really pretty perfect!” 

“I’m glad it worked out,” you beam up at Raihan. 

“Me, too,” he grins back. “What brought you here, anyway?” 

You let out a sigh. 

“It’s a long story,” you admit. “I’ll try to shorten it up for you.” 

“Nah, I wanna hear it,” Raihan insists. You smile and begin explaining to him.   


* * *

  


By the time you’re done with your dinner, there’s still no impending black cloud of doom, no mysterious legendary Pokemon erupting forth from the ground, and no mass evacuation occurring. In fact, as you walk down the street, everything looks…ordinary. 

“Hey, I’m gonna stop by the stadium quickly. A few of my trainers wanted to stay and practice some stuff, and I wanna make sure they’ve locked everything up for the night,” Raihan says. “You wanna come with? You can crash at my place after, if you want.” 

“That’d be perfect,” you agree. The two of you fall into step by each others’ sides, though you have to walk a little more quickly than usual to keep up with Raihan’s long legs. You and Raihan continue to chat about everything as you meander towards the stadium - your new relationship with Rose, how Hop was taking everything (you make another mental note, this one to spend some time with Hop soon), how your therapy appointments were helping the both of you, Raihan’s most successful recent posts on social media. 

Hammerlocke Stadium is also not in flames when you arrive. You’re beginning to feel increasingly silly for coming here. 

“Looks like things are still standing, so that’s a good start,” Raihan observes, echoing your thoughts. You snort a little, but nod, relieved. “Well, I’m gonna go check the field to make sure nobody’s still out there before I close things down.” Not really sure what else to do, you follow him through the holding room and out onto the field - it’s been a while since you’ve been to Hammerlocke Stadium, and it’s a bit nostalgic to be back. 

“Man, it’s weird seeing it all quiet like this,” you admit. There’s nobody in the stands, and none of Raihan’s trainers on the field, either. “It’s crazy to think that the last time I was here, I was super nervous to be battling the toughest Gym Leader in all of Galar.” 

“Yeah, and then you handed my ass to me,” Raihan laughs. 

Suddenly, the stadium lights go off, and you’re left in crushing darkness. 

“Oops, guess my trainers beat us to closing the place up,” Raihan says, pulling out his phone and turning on the flashlight. You do the same, and together, you backtrack your steps through the holding rooms and out to the main lobby. It’s dark there, too. 

But something’s nagging at the back of your brain. 

“How did we miss your trainers on our way in?” You ask. Raihan shrugs. 

“Maybe they were just finishing up in the locker rooms or something.” You nod. That seems plausible. “Guess I’ll lock these doors up, and if Rose is still in here, he can let himself out and re-lock them. He’s got a pair of keys to this place,” he explains, pulling a pair of keys out as the two of you step out of the lobby and into the street. 

It becomes immediately clear to you that something is off. There’s dead silence all up and down the street. And, you notice, there’s no lights on in any of the buildings. 

“Raihan,” you say, pulling on his arm to stop him from locking the doors. “Something is wrong. The power’s out. Everywhere.” Even as you say the words, you can feel your heart sinking down to your shoes. 

“You don’t think -” Raihan starts, but neither of you have to finish the sentence, because you both absolutely do think that Rose has something to do with this. 

Raihan throws the door open, barreling inside. With his long legs, he’s faster than you could ever hope to be, but you follow hot on his heels. Raihan is summoning the lift before you’re even there. 

“Wait,” you say. “How is that working?” 

"Back up generator,” Raihan explains quickly. “For emergency functions. Get a Pokeball ready. Who knows what we’re going to find.” 

The two of you rush into the lift, and you hammer at the button for the lowest level, then at the ‘close door’ button. When the lift doors close with a quiet hiss, you realize your heart is hammering, and you feel very suddenly close to crying. 

“Maybe it’s all an accident,” you’re saying. “Rose said he wouldn’t do anything with the energy Eternatus left in there.” 

“Maybe. Or maybe he lied to you,” Raihan offers quietly. You feel an enormous lump rise up in your throat. You don’t know which you believe more - the chance that Rose has done something by accident, or the chance that Rose lied about his plans, his intentions. Had he really pulled the Wooloo over your eyes? Had he really convinced you that he was a good man, a victim, worthy of your support, your adoration - dare you say it, your love - when really he had just been an expert manipulator? You know you’d been looking at him through, well, rose-colored glasses. You’d been almost foolishly in love with him, the glorious way that new love could be. But it had been nice, for a change, to have someone to bond with, to heal with, to grow to cherish. And despite your fears about his intentions, you had wanted so badly to let yourself enjoy being with him. 

The lift moves quickly, and lets you out on the bottom floor. 

“Come on,” Raihan is shouting, his long legs still letting him run faster than you could ever hope to. 

“Rai,” you call out, grabbing the wall just outside of the lift. “I - can’t. You have to go do this. I can’t handle this.” Your head has gone past swimming and into full on panic. Being here, again, seeing the familiar flooring and ceiling, possibly facing off with Rose again - after growing to love him, no less - is too much. 

“No, no, no,” Raihan is saying, running back to you and grabbing you by the shoulders. “I can’t make Rose do anything except maybe through brute force. But without your backup, even that’s not certain - Rose is strong. But you - Rose might listen to you. He cares about you. And this could all be just an accident, anyway.” 

“How do you know that he cares about me? You just said he might have lied. Everything we’ve had together could have been a lie, just so he could get what he wants with the energy and his freedom and his chance to climb back up to the top of Galar,” you protest, tears brimming in your eyes. 

“Look, I don’t know, maybe Rose did lie to you about his plans with the energy down here,” Raihan admits. “But I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He can’t fake caring about something to save his life. I would know - I’ve seen him try. But he looks at you like you’re the greatest thing to have ever happened to him. I don’t think everything you’ve had together is a lie. I think you’re the one most likely to get through to him, and I’m so sorry to ask you to do this, after all you’ve been through. But Galar needs you to do this.” 

You’re shaking, head to toe, but try some of what you’ve learned in therapy. You take a normal sized breath in then blow it out through your lips slowly, counting as you go. Raihan must know the technique, too, because he breathes with you. 

After a few breaths, you nod up at him. You’re ready to try. 

You and Raihan run into the main room. It’s lit only by the unnatural, eerie glow of the yellow light emanating from the coils of the capacitors. The cracked pieces of the meteor Eternatus had slept in send odd shadows dancing across the red tiled floor. 

And there, in the center of the room, frantically working over a computer on a podium, is Rose. 

“Rose!” You call out to him. A hand grabs your shoulder unexpectedly, and you flinch and jump back. But it’s just Oleana. 

“I can’t get through to him,” she says. “And when I tried - the things I saw -” she chokes up and can’t continue speaking. 

“We have to try!” Raihan shouts. But your brow is furrowing - the things she saw? What is that supposed to mean? 

A few tiles slide back in the floor to Rose’s right, another podium with a computer raising slowly from the ground. 

“Rose!” You call again, but he doesn’t look up. You rush to his side, putting one hand on his broad shoulder. “Rose,” you repeat yourself, urgently, but with as much tenderness in your voice as you could muster. Finally, the man looks up at you; his brows are furrowed, his pretty features looking almost unearthly in the bizarre lights cast by the capacitors. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” is all he says, before he turns back to the computer. It’s as far out of the floor as it is supposed to be now, and Rose presses some buttons, turning it on and booting it up. Your hands grab at his, and he allows you to lift his hands off the screen and pull them towards you. 

“Rose, what are you doing?” You ask. 

“What needs to be done,” he answers. “I’m the only one who can save them.” He moves to wrench his hands away, but you keep a firm grasp on him, not willing to let go just yet. 

“Save who?” You ask, but he doesn’t answer. His eyes are unfocused as he looks at a distant spot across the room. You look at what he’s looking at, but don’t see anything there. 

And then, there’s just the faintest glimmer of the lighthouse at Hulbury, and then the Wooloo fields outside of Postwick. 

“No,” you say, your heart sinking. “This can’t be happening.” And it can’t be. Eternatus is your Pokemon. It’s in a ball somewhere, in storage, not here. You haven’t even taken it out once, you remind yourself with a twinge of guilt mixed with terror. But you remember Professor Magnolia’s theory about Eternatus’ energy being the vehicle for its powers, and everything seems suddenly more plausible. After all, you’re surrounded by supermassive amounts of Eternatus’ energy here. 

“I’m the only one who can save them,” Rose repeats, setting his hands on your shoulders gently. You turn to him, encouraged by his gentle contact, but when you look up at him, there’s something wrong with his eyes. There’s none of the light in them that you were used to, you realize. Your Rose’s eyes always sparkle with kindness or amusement. These eyes, you think, look flat, haunted. 

“Rose, we can save them another way,” you insist. “Just do what you came here to do, and let’s get out of here and think about things.” 

“I have a chance now,” he says. “Eternatus isn’t here, and I have complete control of its energy.” You want to tell him that nothing could be further from the truth - if anything, the energy seems to have a hold on him - but he presses on. “I know what I have to do. Please, you have to believe in me.” 

For a moment, you’re tempted. Your heart aches to believe in Rose, to support the man you’ve begun to love. 

“Rose, all of Hammerlocke has lost power from whatever you’re doing,” you try. “Maybe even the whole Galar grid. If you’re not careful, you could end up back in jail, or worse, hurting yourself -” 

“They were right,” Rose says, his face contorting in anger for a moment. It strikes terror into your heart, how unlike him it is. “You will go down in history as the person who tried to stop the hero of Galar. As the person who didn’t care if all of this suffering occurs!” Rose sweeps his hand at the room around you, and you look around, but you don’t see anything. 

And then, for just a flash of a second, you do. 

It’s as horrific as Rose had described to you once. The adults and children, all starving, all in rags, all wounded, some missing limbs or fingers or noses. A whole crowd of them surrounds you, their eyes condemning you. And in the background, you see the rage of uncontrollable Dynamaxed Pokemon, ravaging the land until it’s unusable. 

And then they’re gone. 

You grab at Rose’s shirt, clinging to him in desperate fear. 

“You see?” Rose says, his voice softening. “Darling, I’m the only one who can save them. I know what must be done.” 

For a moment, you believe him wholeheartedly. 

But then you realize that’s exactly what Eternatus needs you to do, and you let go of his shirt, putting your hands on his shoulders. 

“Rose, my darling,” you say, keeping your voice soft. “I do believe you know what must be done, and can do it. But we need time to do what we said we would, to put failsafes in place -” 

“It will be too late by then,” Rose interrupts you, his voice sad. One of his hands trails down your shoulder to your chest, his fingers playing with the rose pendant that rests there. “My window of opportunity is small. I’ve seen it. And I’m the only one who can do this. I must be strong enough to do this.” His hand closes around the rose pendant, and without looking up at you, he stares at it for a long moment. 

It’s a look of regret, of a wish that things didn’t have to be this way. You’ve seen that look once before, you realize; right before he threw the Ultra Ball containing his Escavalier on the Darkest Day. That moment, Rose said, was the only time he had fought against Eternatus, for even just a moment. 

“I don’t want to do this,” he says, his voice small. 

“Rose, don’t,” you say. He raises his eyes from the pendant to you, and for a moment, you see the light of your Rose in them. But then he glances behind you, at Arceus-knows-what, and his hand tightens around the pendant and he uses his not-insignificant strength to give it a sharp tug, jerking you forward and snapping the dainty chain around your neck. 

You clutch at where the pendant had been, eyes welling up with tears. Rose pockets the chain quickly, then places one of his hands over both of yours. 

“I’m sorry,” he says. And then the hand on your chest shoves you away so hard that you’re pushed into the podium containing the other computer. The pain through your back upon impact takes your breath away, and you slump to the ground, one hand reaching out to stabilize yourself. 

“No!” Raihan shouts, and you hear his footfalls as he races to your side. He helps you up quickly. Across from you, Rose is working furiously on the computer, his skilled fingers manipulating numbers and graphs. “If that’s how he wants to play, then we’ll take him down together,” Raihan says, grabbing one of his Pokeballs. But you shake your head. Unsteady on your feet as you are, you know one thing to be true. 

“Not yet. I almost got through to him, Rai,” you insist. Raihan frowns. 

“He hurt you. And we don’t have much more time.” 

“I was almost there. One more try,” you insist. “I can’t give up on him just yet. And if I have to battle him again -” you stop, shaking your head as the tears spill over your eyes. 

“One more try,” Raihan agrees quietly. 

You step towards Rose once more, relieved to find your back is sore, but not impossibly painful. He’s so busy working on the computer, he doesn’t notice your approach. 

“Rose,” you say, not bothering to stop your tears. The handsome man looks up at you, then back to the computer - and then he does a double take to you. 

You’re betting on one thing that you don’t really know to be true. You’re betting that Rose had been telling you the truth when he’d said, above all else, he didn’t want to hurt you during your encounter on the Darkest Day. 

You slide one arm around his soft waist and put your head on his shoulder. 

“You’re crying,” he observes, sounding actually a little taken aback. 

“You hurt me,” you say, burying your face in his neck. You can taste salt as your tears stream down your face and onto his skin. When Rose doesn’t pull away, you slide a little closer to him and wrap your arms around his shoulders. 

“I did? Oh, Arceus,” he exclaims, one of his arms moving to wrap around your waist while the other pulls you close to him by your shoulders. “Oh, darling,” he soothes you, one hand reaching up to stroke your hair. “I’m so sorry. I - I don’t even remember what I did. Where are you hurt?” He asks. 

“My back,” you tell him honestly. “You pushed me into that podium.” 

“I did? I did,” he recalls. His eyes flicker to the podium, and then behind it, and you know Eternatus is working overtime on him by the way he tenses in your arms. “They need me to save them,” he explains to you, his voice a dull murmur, the light in his eyes fading. 

“Rose,” you call to him, grabbing his face between your hands and forcing him to look at you. “I need you to save me. I’m hurt and I’m afraid and I don’t know who you are right now. I believe in you and your vision for the future and I want to change the world, change the future with you. Please, Rose, I love you. Please protect me.” 

“Darling,” Rose breathes, his eyes on you. “I love you, too. And I want nothing more than to protect you and to care for you,” he says. You’ve heard him say those words once before, but hearing them again, here, makes you start sobbing, because you don’t know which is more true - that he wants nothing more than to protect you, or that he wants nothing more than to fulfill his life’s work with sustainable energy, becoming Galar’s greatest hero in the process. You melt into his neck, again letting your tears flow onto his skin, hoping against all hope that you wouldn’t have to battle with him soon. 

A long moment draws out, and you know, in your heart, that there’s no way that you, who he’d only kissed two weeks ago, can possibly win out against his life’s dreams, against the strength of Eternatus. 

But to your surprise, Rose hefts you easily in his arms, arranging you so that you were being carried bridal-style. “You shouldn’t be here. Let me get you to safety. Then I can deal with everything I need to here.” 

“Okay,” you mumble into his neck between sobs. 

It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. 

Raihan and Oleana are silent as Rose continues to carry you across the floor, following you both at a distance, almost as if they’re afraid of breaking a spell. 

“Are you hurt badly?” He asks you. “Do I have to call someone?” 

“I think I’ll be okay if you can help get me upstairs,” you say, sniffling. 

“I’ll take a look at you there,” he says, summoning the lift. 

You spend the whole lift ride up sobbing into Rose’s neck. Truthfully, your back hardly even hurts at all right now; you’re pretty sure you’re crying because you’re just so grateful to be getting Rose away from the energy in those capacitors. 

“It’ll be all right, darling,” Rose is soothing you. You sob all the harder, suddenly realizing that you have no idea how you’ll keep him from going downstairs again. 

The lift chimes and lets you out on the main floor, and Rose carries you over to one of the chairs by the entrance to Hammerlocke Stadium. He places you down gently. 

“Darling, tell me how this happened,” he says. For a moment, you gape at him - didn’t he remember? - but then you realize the light in his eyes is back, and he honestly doesn’t remember, even though you’ve told him once before. You remember what he said to you weeks ago - whole stretches of the last year were gone for him. 

“You pushed me into one of those podiums with a computer,” you repeat yourself. Rose’s concerned look deepens, his brows furrowing. 

“What?” He asks, disbelieving, shaking his head and looking over his shoulder at Oleana and Raihan, then back to you. “No, I - I wouldn’t. I don’t remember doing that -” 

“No, you don’t remember, because the energy you thought you had such excellent control over was actually controlling you,” Oleana speaks up, stepping forward, her arms crossed. 

“What?” Rose breathes again. 

“We’d better explain,” you say, looking up at Oleana and Raihan. 

“You’ll need to explain,” Oleana says. “I have to go back down there and undo whatever’s been done, and get the grid back online.” 

“Oleana, no - you said it was affecting you, too,” you protest. Oleana nods solemnly. 

“It was,” she agrees. “I’m going to give you all my Pokemon to hold for me. Raihan, you haven’t been exposed to Eternatus’ poison to any significant degree. I need you to come with me, and if I do anything that seems out of place, I need you to do whatever’s necessary to protect Galar.” 

Raihan nods solemnly. 

“Will do,” he says. Oleana begins handing you her Pokeballs, and Raihan looks at you carefully. “You gonna be okay up here for a few minutes?” 

You take a deep breath in and look at Rose. The concerned look on his face hasn’t gone away, and he looks between you and Oleana and Raihan, desperate for answers. But you can see the kindness in his eyes, and you know by this that you have nothing to fear up here. 

“Yeah,” you agree. 

“Whatever happens,” Oleana says, walking back towards the lift, Raihan trailing after her. “Don’t let Rose back down here.”


	28. Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the angst, but y'all knew it was coming by the end of last chapter, right?

As gently as you try to explain it to him, Rose takes the news of the situation poorly. 

“Fuck,” he curses, tipping his head back and touching one hand to his forehead. “Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry. You were so brave and selfless,” he says, looking at you. His bottom lip begins to quiver, and you know he’s going to cry. “And I hurt you. I used my strength against you.” He drops his head into both his hands, his shoulders shaking in quiet sobs. 

You hadn’t even told him about the necklace he’d ripped off you - it seemed best to skip that for now, for his sake. 

You reach over to him, where he’s sitting across from you in a chair, and put your arms around his shoulders and hold him tight. 

“Rose,” you soothe him. “Everything is okay now. I’ll be okay. You chose me in the end, over anything Eternatus could use to control you.” But Rose shakes his head. 

“It’s not okay. I’m nothing more than Eternatus’ pawn,” he sobs. “I was afraid of this, and I was right. It can seek me out. I’ve been so corrupted by its poison…” he breaks down in sobs anew. 

Above you, the lights come back on with a quiet hum. 

“Oleana,” you murmur appreciatively, then return to comforting Rose, stroking his hair and holding him to your neck. 

A short couple minutes later, the chime of the lift tells you that Olean and Raihan are back. 

“You did it,” you call to them when they step off the lift. 

“We did,” Raihan agrees. Beside him, Oleana looks pale and shaken, but she gives a curt nod, approaching you with Raihan trailing just behind. 

“How’s Rose taking things?” She asks. You frown and stroke Rose’s hair again. 

“About as well as can be expected, all things considered,” you say. “Here - let me give you your Pokemon back.” Oleana accepts the Pokeballs gratefully, and you think you see a bit more color coming back to her face. 

“If I call a taxi, can you take Rose back to Wyndon? I think he needs to go home and rest,” Oleana explains. 

“What about you?” You ask. “You’re not coming back to Wyndon?” 

“Not immediately. I’m sure I’m going to have to deal with some emergency press meetings and do a couple tune-ups to make sure the plant is back to full efficiency,” she explains. “If we get Rose out of here, we can probably pass this off as just scheduled maintenance on the grid, or a Skwovet chewing a line or something.” You nod. It would be best if Rose weren’t at the plant for too long. 

“I’ll take care of him,” you promise.   


* * *

  


Rose is quiet on the ride home, staring out the window numbly. 

“Rose,” you sigh, reaching out to take his hand in yours. “Everything will be okay. I know you can’t see it now, but it will be.” 

“I can’t,” he agrees, continuing to stare out the window. His hand is limp in yours. 

“You’ll feel a little better once you’re home,” you offer. Rose frowns. 

“Home, which I’ve cleverly built on a Power Spot. Which radiates Eternatus’ energy,” he adds. 

“You were okay there last night,” you remind him gently. 

“Who’s to say the same will be true after this?” He moans, pressing one hand into his forehead. 

“I’ll be there with you,” you persist. 

“So I can hurt you again?” He asks, lifting his head and turning to look at you sharply. Then, his eyes narrow. “Why were you even in Hammerlocke? I left you in Wyndon, didn’t I?” 

You swallow hard. It’s the question you don’t want to have to answer, and as discombobulated as Rose is, he’s still sharp enough to land on it. 

“I was worried something might happen,” you explain feebly. 

“You were worried I might do something,” Rose clarifies. “I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t plan on it. I meant what I said when I told you that I was going to wait to push things forward, and you didn’t trust me, did you?” 

“No - it’s not that,” you explain, feeling desperate. “I just had a feeling that something was going to go wrong, somehow. And I know it’s not healthy for me to follow you like that, but I just kept thinking about on the Darkest Day, how it took me hours to reach Hammerlocke - how, by the time I was there, the entire city had been evacuated, and I’d been in the air with Hop as minute after minute went by, powerless and so afraid.” Even as you say it, you know that the underpinning truth of it all was that you still had some lack of trust in Rose. And you can’t argue that fact away. 

Rose withdraws his hand from yours and stuffs it in his pocket instead. Then he feels something, his brows furrowing, and his fingers fish around in his pocket for a moment, until he pulls out the little rose necklace. He holds it up so he can look at it, examining the chain where it broke. “What happened?” He asks, his voice hoarse as he turns to look at you. 

You wish you could lie to him, but with his sharp gaze on you, you know you stand no chance. 

“You snapped it off my neck before you pushed me away,” you murmur, unable to meet his eyes. 

Rose lets out a wordless moan before dropping his head into both his hands and sobbing again.   


* * *

  


You’d be lying if you said you weren’t at least a little nervous, but Rose has been completely himself the entire lift ride up to the top of Rose Tower. Well, completely himself in the sense that he wasn’t under Eternatus’ influence. He’s not at all himself in the way that he doesn’t respond to any of your touches or gentle words. His stony numbness is making you feel sick to your stomach with a deep dread. 

You usher him into his executive penthouse suite, wondering if this is the last time you’re going to be here. 

Gently, you guide him into his bedroom. Rose sits at the edge of his bed, staring at his hands folded in his lap. 

“Hey, you doing okay so far?” You ask him, kneeling in front of him and resting your elbows on his lap. You give him your best, most gentle smile. Rose blinks at you and shakes his head a little. 

“I don’t know where I’m safe. I don’t know why this Power Spot isn’t affecting me yet. Maybe it will, once Eternatus realizes I’m here,” he sighs. “I was foolish to believe that just because you’d caught it, we’d all be safe from it.” He takes a deep breath in and out. “And the reality of the situation, as much as I don’t want to admit it, is that it’s dangerous for you to stay with me. You were right not to trust me.” 

“Rose,” you interject, but he shakes his head and keeps talking. 

“Eternatus wants me to hurt you. We were able to stop it this time, but each time I’m exposed to it, my mind is further weakened to its poison. You’re not safe if you’re by my side,” he says quietly. “You got me home. But now you should go home, too.” 

You sit back on your heels, rocked by Rose’s words. But, really, you had known they were coming. For a moment, you feel only that powerful sense of dread, combined with loss and a nearly overwhelming sorrow. 

But then, a rage bubbles up within you, and you stand, folding your arms. 

“I’m sorry,” Rose says, but you shake your head. 

“No,” you snap. “You’ve said your piece, but now you have to listen to me, Rose. I have spent the last month getting to know you. I’ve healed from a major trauma with you. I’ve testified for hours at a time for you. I’ve visited you in prison, and I’ve dragged your ass out of an unsafe situation and I’ve drank wine with you and eaten more things that I didn’t know what they were than I’ve ever eaten before. I’ve listened to your most gut-wrenching sorrows and regrets and fears and I’ve told you mine. And I’ve faced down the Ultimate Pokemon not just once, but twice now, for you. Do you know what I had to overcome to so much as go into that room for you? Do you know how terrified I was? I know I’m strong, because it takes strength to overcome all that fear. And I know I’ve saved your world, over and over, because you’ve told me so, and you’ve told me there was nothing you wouldn’t give to me for doing it. I know you don’t remember, but when we were down there in the power plant, I told you I loved you, and you said you loved me. I don’t know if you meant what you said, but I sure as hell did. And now, as someone who loves you, I’m asking you to step up. I’ve faced my literal worst fear for you. It’s your turn to do the same for me. If you push me away right now, you’re taking the easy way out, Rose. I have given so much for you, and I have loved you every step of the way. If you love me, it’s time for you to do the same. Face your fear, Rose, and be with me anyway, and fight Eternatus’ hold on you anywhere you find it.” 

Rose sucks in a deep breath, playing with his long lock of hair. 

“I’ll think about it,” he says, finally. “But I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do what you’re asking of me.” 

“All I’m asking is that you try,” you insist. Bur Rose crumples. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, beginning to sob. “But if I try, and things go wrong - who knows what will come of you. Or of me. I should have thought this through more before falling for you the way I have. I knew Eternatus could keep seeking me out, and still, I selfishly insisted on developing our relationship when I should have been thinking about how to better protect you from Eternatus, from myself. You’re young, and things have moved quickly between us, and I should have been more careful -” 

“Maybe I am young, but I’m strong, and I’m not the one who’s afraid here, Rose,” you interrupt him quietly. 

“You should go home,” he repeats. 

You stare at him in disbelief for a long moment. 

“Call me a taxi to the roof and I’ll go,” you finally agree.   


* * *

  


On the roof, Rose turns to you one more time as the dome retracts above you to make way for the taxi to land. 

“I know I told you before that I would give you anything in the world for having saved me time and time again,” Rose says, his voice unsteady, though he’s no longer crying. “This is my gift to you. Freedom from me. I know you think this is the easy way out, but it’s not - this is impossibly hard for me. But if you ever need anything in life that I can help provide monetarily, you only have to ask Oleana, and she will make sure you’re well taken care of for everything you’ve done for me. And I mean anything - a house, a car. A second or third house if you want it. I’ll provide you with anything.” He draws a deep breath in. “I’m sure this must feel awful for you. But one day, you’ll see that this is the right decision, in the end.” 

The taxi lands before you, and you silently move to get in. Before you close the car door behind you, you turn back to Rose. You’re not sure if it’s that you want to see him one more time, though the sight of the gorgeous man who is no longer yours hurts you to your core, or if it’s that you want to make sure he hears your words. 

“Given your recent history of shitty decision-making, Rose, I’m not sure how you can feel so confident saying I’ll think this was the right choice in the end,” you snap. You close the door behind yourself and the taxi shudders, then takes off. You look down only once at Rose, who’s standing on the roof watching you go, his long hair fluttering in the breeze. You can’t tell from here anymore, but you wonder if there are tears streaming down his face the same way they’re streaming down yours.   


* * *

  


You cry yourself to sleep that night, unable to shake the feeling that Rose had taken the easy way out. Sure, he claimed to be trying to protect you - but when push came to shove, you were the bloody Champion. You hadn’t brought out your Pokemon earlier in the evening because you hadn’t felt the need to; you’d been sure you could get through to Rose on your own, and that felt safer than holding another battle surrounded by fragile capacitors. But you’d kicked Rose’s ass once before with your Pokemon, and you know you could do it again if you needed to. In that light, the claim of trying to protect you feels flimsy and half-baked. 

You had fought so hard for your relationship, and he hadn’t been willing to even try. And you’d been such a fool, you thought you had someone who you could understand and love. But at the end of the day, Bede had been right. Rose had used you to get what he wanted. Now that he thought of you as only a liability, and he was poised to be back on top with access to the greatest natural resource mankind had ever seen, he was done with you. 

When you wake up a few hours later, your pillow is still wet - you’d been crying in your sleep, having fitful dreams. It’s only barely dawn, the gray light filtering in through your apartment’s windows. You try to go back to sleep, but you’re too worked up from everything. Instead, you move to your window and draw the blinds back, looking out upon Wyndon. You’re hoping that seeing the bustling metropolis moving on with life as always will help you feel a little grounded somehow. You remember how excited you had been the first time you’d arrived here, just before your Championship match. 

But instead, Rose Tower catches your eye, the mirrored windows reflecting the earliest rays of the sunrise back at you. Somewhere on the top floor, you know, Rose is curled up safe in his bed. 

Rose, who didn’t want you anymore after sweeping you off your feet. 

Rose, who you’d faced your worst fears for. 

Well, you think, maybe not your worst fears. There’s one left, after all, and it’s what lies at the heart of this whole problem.


	29. Wild Area

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt really bad about leaving you all hanging with last chapter, so here's the next chapter to help take your mind off the angst a little!

You dress quickly and pull on a good pair of hiking shoes, then gather up your camping equipment and berries. Lastly, you grab a map of the Wild Area. 

You stop at the Pokemon Center on your way out of Wyndon, and access one of the PCs. 

There it is. It’s just a handful of pixels, clustered together to form a Pokeball. The sight is familiar enough to you and to millions of other trainers worldwide. But this strikes terror into your very soul. Are you really going to do this? 

Your heart hammers as you swap out one of your partner Pokemon for Eternatus.   


* * *

  


Before you leave the Center, you send Hop a quick text. 

_Hey Hop - I’m heading out into the Wild Area today to take care of some things. I might camp overnight, but if I don’t text you that I’m back by tomorrow, I’ll have my Find my Phone feature on, okay?_

You struggle a little over whether to send Rose a text, too. For all you know, he’s blocked your number already. But, you figure, this directly affects him, too, so he might as well know. 

_Rose - I’m not sure if you will get or even read this text, but if you do, I’m heading out into the Wild Area. I’m going to do my best to make sure you’ll be safe. To make sure all of Galar will be safe._

Before you hit send, you wonder for a moment about your actions. You can’t help but wonder - is it Eternatus who is influencing you to do this? Going alone to face down the Ultimate Pokemon would be terribly risky; shouldn’t you bring someone with you? 

But if you do, you’re endangering them, you realize. What you did with your life was your choice. But to drag along Hop, or Leon, or all of them - they’d willingly put themselves at risk for you, but what kind of friend would you be if you asked them to do that, and they ended up hurt - or worse? 

For a brief moment, you think you can understand how Rose feels about you. 

And, at the end of the day, Eternatus had let itself be caught by you. There was no Pokeball strong enough to control something that powerful unless it was willing to be controlled, you’re sure. It’s your job to figure Eternatus out. It always has been. 

You press send and leave the Pokemon Center, hand up to hail a taxi.   


* * *

  


Hiking in the Wild Area feels surprisingly…good. It’s a pain in the ass at times, dodging curious or aggressive Pokemon and scrambling over rocks and through tall grass in the beating sunshine. But it’s a relief to have something to focus on, a purpose. It keeps your mind off things. It helps, too, that the weather is holding out for right now. But you know it probably won’t last for long; the weather in the Wild Area is notoriously fickle, and can change from sun to driving rain in a heartbeat. 

Your phone buzzes, then buzzes again and again, but you ignore it. You want to make it to the bridge over South Lake Miloch by lunch, and then you’ll have a picnic and check your texts. 

The Lake is in sight when you get another text, then another. Again, you push onward, towards where the map indicates the bridge should be. 

The sun is a little lower in the sky than you’d like it to be by the time you’re over the bridge, so you resolve to make it a quick lunch. You find a tree to sit under and look out at the lake as you pull some pre-packaged food out. You figure you’ll make a real meal of some curry tonight, when you’ve set up camp. 

After the first couple bites, you pull your phone out and check your texts. The first is from Hop. 

_Hey, have fun, mate! Let’s go on a camping trip together sometime!_

You smile and text back quickly. 

_Yes! Let me know your schedule and let’s make plans! It’s better being out here than I expected._

The other texts are from Rose. It’s hard to open it, but you force yourself to. 

_What do you mean, you’re going to do your best to make sure I’ll be safe? Please, whatever you’re planning, you need to take care of yourself._

The next text from him is a little more frantic. 

_Please, please answer me - please tell me what’s going on. I’m worried sick._

Anger bubbles up in your chest - how dare he try to tell you he’s worried sick after pushing you away? You already had suffered enough emotional whiplash at his hands in the last month. 

Your notifications tell you that you have a couple missed calls, all from Rose. 

How dare he? 

But, you consider as you eat, maybe Rose is worried about you. He’d said he had broken up with you because he wanted to protect you. The urge to protect you had been strong enough that he’d been able to break away from Eternatus’ grip the last time. He couldn’t fake that if he’d tried. It’s entirely plausible that he is genuinely worried about you. 

So you text him back. 

_I’m going to figure out what it is that Eternatus wants from you. From us all. It chose me to catch it. It’s my duty, and I’ve been putting it off._

You send the text. 

As always, Rose texts back incredibly quickly. 

_NO! Darling, whatever is in your head - whatever idea you think you’ve had - it’s not yours. It’s Eternatus’. Please, come back to me. We can talk this out._

You frown at your screen, finishing your food. He’d called you his darling. He was begging for you to come back to him. He wanted to talk things out with you. For a moment, you feel a flutter of hope, and the temptation to turn around and return to Rose wells up within you. 

You know that the you of even a few days ago - maybe even a day ago - would have turned around and rushed back to Rose’s side. You would have shown up on his doorstep like a lovesick puppy. 

But that’s not really what love is, you think. Love isn’t about tunnel vision for one person only, and the all-consuming need to be around them. Love isn’t about ignoring your needs, your responsibilities, in favor of a relationship. You knew that. This isn’t the first time you’ve been in love. But things had been so fast, so intense, with Rose, you’d found yourself ultimately succumbing to the feeling of infatuation. You had to do better this time. 

You write a text back to Rose. 

_I have a responsibility to Galar, Rose. And to Eternatus._

You hope this idea is coming from inside your own head. It feels like it’s yours. You don’t see anything unusual in the air around you. You can remember the entire day with no difficulty. 

Taking a deep breath, you press send.   


* * *

  


You make it to Giant’s Seat by dinner time, to your relief. As you’d hiked in, your phone had been buzzing nearly non-stop with ignored phone calls from Rose; you’d had to put it on silent to get a little bit of relief. At one point, you’d considered turning your phone off entirely, but your promise to Hop to have the Find my Phone feature on made you reconsider. 

Eventually, though, the calls had stopped. You have a slew of text messages, as well, but don’t bother to open them, just looking at the little red notification bubble with a surprisingly high number written within. 

You need to get down to business. You need to deal with Eternatus, then set up camp and hike out tomorrow. 

Or at least, that’s the plan if everything goes okay, a little voice in the back of your head is saying. 

You hike around the giant rock spire called the Giant’s Seat, moving towards the far edges of the Wild Area. The cliffs are probably the furthest away from civilization you can hope to get, which you figure will be an asset in case Eternatus goes on some sort of rampage - you’ll have more time to calm it down without risking hurting any civilians. The other advantage of being here is that there are all sorts of nooks and crannies, caves and inlets in the cliffs. You’ve been turning the idea of letting Eternatus out over all day long in your head. If you release it in a field, in the open, there’s no telling what will happen. If you can’t control it, it’ll have every possible avenue of escape. You’re not even sure you’ll be able to recall it to its Pokeball; after all, it’s a living legend of unexplored power, and had completely frozen your Pokemon the last time you’d fought it. You figure turning Eternatus loose in a cave for the first time will probably be a good place to start. If you stand by the entrance of the cave and let Eternatus out within it, you’ll be blocking its primary method of escape. 

Not that that actually meant much, you think. But still, at least you’ll feel better for having taken the precaution. 

It takes about an hour of walking before you find a cave that resembles what you had in mind. You turn your flashlight on and explore it quickly - a handful of Roggenrola squeal and scatter at the light - and like what you see. It’s tall and deep, but the cave doesn’t seem to continue endlessly deep into the earth thanks to an enormous pile of rubble blocking it off. It’s wide enough near the entrance to imagine Eternatus spreading its form out, but not so impossibly wide that you couldn’t defend the exit with the help of your Pokemon team if you needed to. 

Assuming you can move at all. 

Turning away from the pile of rubble and walking back to the entrance, you have a moment of pause. What if the rest of the cave collapsed somehow under Eternatus’ enormous power? 

Still, the idea of letting it out in the open and potentially unleashing it on all of Galar by accident is less appealing. At least if you stick by your original plan, positioning yourself by the entrance and releasing Eternatus in the cave, you’ll have a pretty good chance of making it out alive if anything happens. 

You take a deep breath, and let out your Pokemon team around you. Then, turning into the depths of the cave, you release Eternatus.


	30. Eternatus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, time for the big showdown with Galar's favorite poisonous dragon!

You’d forgotten just how enormous the Ultimate Pokemon really is. You’re lucky, you realize, that the cave is big enough to accommodate the monstrous dragon. 

Skeletal jaws angle to allow Eternatus to stare down at you, the eye sockets seeing and yet unseeing. An unearthly light, reminiscent of the light in the capacitors at the power plant, emanates from Eternatus’ body, casting eerie shadows along the cave walls. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you out sooner,” you begin. Eternatus doesn’t answer you. You’re not sure how or why, exactly, you had expected it to answer; it’s not psychic type, you remind yourself. “I should have come to you long before this. I know that. You chose me to catch you. I’ve been…afraid. You probably know that already though….er, um, I don’t really know what you know. I’m not even sure what you really are.” 

The air around you throbs with energy; you can feel the shuddering pulse of it deep in your bones. It almost burns your skin to be around it; you have to force yourself not to pull back. 

And then the air changes, and you see ripping through space around you a meteor, crashing to Galar, burying itself deep in the crust of the earth. Suddenly, all-consuming darkness surrounds you. Out of the corner of your eye, you think you see a tiny blip of red light; you turn to it quickly, but it’s gone. Then there’s another. And another. The blips come faster and faster, and the darkness turns gray. The light is just enough for you to see a Power Spot Detector, and then, holding the Detector, you can see Rose. 

You start for a moment, and he fades away. Of course. It was just an illusion, a vision, of what had once happened. 

“How -” you begin, wondering how these things had felt so real. But then the air ripples, the lighthouse at Hulbury jutting proudly into the roof of the cave. Another ripple in the air suddenly surrounds you with the stone walls at Hammerlocke. “Right,” you nod, collecting yourself. “I knew Rose found you. Didn’t know he used a Power Spot Detector,” you muse. “Guess it makes sense that you would be putting out Galar Particles, or whatever they’re called, even while you were asleep. You’re from space?” You ask, remembering the first half of the vision. Eternatus doesn’t respond. “Okay, based on what you’ve shown me, I’m going to assume you’re from space. I remember I saw the shards of that meteor down in the Power Plant.” 

At the mention of the Power Plant, the brilliant core at the center of Eternatus’ chest shines more brightly, until you have to close your eyes and turn away from it; even then, the intensity of the light hurts your eyes. The energy emanating from Eternatus throbs again, and grows stronger, painful against your skin. 

Okay, you mentally log. It doesn’t like the Darkest Day, or the Power Plant. Or both. 

To your enormous relief, the pulse of energy subsides as quickly as it came, the cool air of the cave suddenly feeling fresh and relieving against your now too-hot skin. You’re panting hard, shaking from terror. Eternatus could probably fry you alive if it wanted to. But it had stopped, and when you think about what’s transpired so far, you figure the fact that it’s communicating with you has to at least be a good sign. 

“Okay, so you’re from space, and you might be a Pokemon, or you might not be, and you don’t like the Darkest Day or the Power Plant or both,” you summarize. Again, Eternatus remains silent. “Then…why are you here? And what do you want from us?” Eternatus doesn’t answer, but the visions in the air of Galar grow stronger, more crisp, more clear. Instead of just being a vignette of an area, they surround you, until you really feel as if you could be in Ballonlea, with the ethereal gleam of tiny mushrooms all around you and Morelull scrambling over your shoes, or in Stow-on-Side, the air dry and the red dirt blowing to dust around you. There’s so much to see, and you frown, spinning around. There must be some sort of common thread in what Eternatus is trying to show you. There must be something that you’re supposed to notice, something that can help you explain an answer to your questions. 

But if there is, you’re not smart enough to see it. Your head is growing increasingly foggy, though, and you begin to suspect that, more than anything, Eternatus was mega-dosing you with its own poison. 

“What are you doing?” You ask the dragon. But you get no reply, just the bright city lights of Wyndon at night sparkling all around you. “Are you poisoning me?” There’s still no answer. “Do you need to keep poisoning me to be able to show me more things? I know that people who have received more of your poison see more visions. Or are you trying to get me to do something?” But when the visions don’t change, you decide to switch your approach. “Okay, where did we leave off? You don’t like the Power Plant,” you say, struggling to remember your summary of what you’d learned from Eternatus so far. 

The core on Eternatus’ chest begins to glow again, the energy burning your eyes. 

“Okay, I get it! Don’t hurt me!” 

To your amazement, the energy subsides again. 

“Thank you,” you say, a little out of breath and still shaking. Eternatus doesn’t answer, and the visions of Galar are as strong as ever. It hurts your heart looking at them, wondering if you’ll ever see your beloved region again. But you shake your head to clear it, determined to proceed forward. “Okay, where to go from here. Can you try telling me why you don’t like the Power Plant?” You try. 

The visions in the air change and ripple dizzyingly, until you see Eternatus before you. Only this Eternatus is chained to massive girders within the plant, an enormous force field of some sort containing it. Eternatus’ core burns brightly, and the chains glow a fiery white-hot, but they don’t break. Within the core, multiple lines seem plugged in and snake out of its skeletal body. You turn to follow them where they run around the plant, tracing the lines to where they plug into the power plant’s capacitors. The capacitors themselves pulse and shudder and glow with the effort of processing Eternatus’ energy, which flows down glowing white lines into the grid for Galar’s consumption. You turn back to Eternatus, chained; the dragon writhes and screams, a horrendous screeching noise. You cover your ears and turn away, doubling over in pain from its volume. When the scream ends, you look up and see him. He’s standing there, hands behind his back, eyes calculating as he surveys the power plant before him. 

“Rose?” You ask in disbelief. 

And then he shimmers, and disappears. Behind you, Eternatus makes a quiet sound. 

You turn back to the dragon, tears in your eyes. 

“He wouldn’t,” you protest. “Rose wouldn’t! He’s a kind man - he’s not the sort to enslave a living being - he -” You double over on your knees, sobbing. You know, deep down, that Rose had absolutely planned that for Eternatus. Maybe he hadn’t planned for it to look so atrocious, exactly. But Rose had wanted Eternatus to serve as some sort of living generator for all of Galar, to power the region and ensure it would never run out of energy ever again. You can’t say if it would have played out like that - but it could have. And, you think, Rose might have really chained Eternatus for Galar. He could be capable of immense love and passion, but he could also be shortsighted, sometimes egotistical, and he had a tendency to rush into things. Above all else, he was human. 

You suddenly wish you had spoken to him just one last time. 

You raise your head slowly, forcing the tears back. Eternatus looks at you closely. Its gaze doesn’t feel as eerie, this time. It feels almost human in its own way. 

“You’re right,” you say, quietly. “He would have. He wanted to. Maybe not exactly like that - but he planned to use you as an energy source, and that would have been no life for you.” 

You rearrange your legs under you, already too exhausted physically and emotionally to bother with standing up. Your head is throbbing. 

“That day…why did you pick me?” You ask. “Why does it have to be me here, doing this? Why not Hop, or Leon?” 

Before you, the world shimmers again, your best friend and his brother appearing. Leon looks shaken, beaten, the way he’d looked after coming back to himself on the Darkest Day. The brick floor of the roof of Hammerlocke Stadium feels cool beneath your palms. When you look back up, Hop clutches one of the rusty artifacts you’d taken in the Slumbering Wield in one hand, a Pokeball in the other. 

“I caught him, Lee!” Hop exclaims, rushing to his brother. 

“Hoppy, that’s amazing,” Lee gushes. “I always knew you could do it. I always knew you’d be stronger than me one day. Now - we have to finish this. I promised the Chairman I’d catch Eternatus - not just to stop the Darkest Day, but because this Pokemon can benefit all of Galar. We have to go find the Chairman, Hop.” 

The brothers disappear into thin air before you. 

“No,” you say, tears beginning to well up in your eyes. “Hop - Hop would…” You trail off. Leon probably would have felt obligated to carry through what he’d been working hand in hand with Rose on. It might not have even been just obligation - Leon probably really believed in Rose’s vision. From what you’d been able to piece together, his primary objection to Rose’s plan had been that he had wanted Rose to wait one more day; he was willing to help him wholeheartedly after the championship match with you had concluded. And Hop very well might have given Eternatus up to Leon, the older brother he idolized beyond compare. 

“So I was the only one you could trust, because I was the least likely to give you back up to Rose,” you say. Eternatus makes another noise; you take it to be a noise of agreement. A long moment of silence draws out between the two of you before you continue with your next pressing question. “The other day in the Power Plant - you manipulated your energy, even when you weren’t there to actually work it.” Eternatus stays silent, moving just a little in the air. “I suppose you must have wanted to hurt Rose, after he’d tried to enslave you?” 

Again, the energy moves around you, and you see an enormous Pokemon. It’s a red and black bird, and seeing it strikes the cold, chilling fear of death into your heart. It rests inside a forcefield, not unlike the one you’d seen around Eternatus, with three thick cables siphoning pulsing orange energy away from the Pokemon. 

The view shifts, and you’re in a small town with three enormous rocks protruding from the ground. They rumble and move, and a massive beam of light rockets from the ground - but something’s wrong. It crashes back to the ground, sundering the land in its wake, shaking the ground so badly you think the cave around you might collapse - 

And then it’s gone. 

The crushing fear of death still emanates in the cave around you, and you clutch at the ground beneath you, shaking. Your head is foggier than ever and your tongue feels thick in your mouth when you talk. 

“That was a Pokemon,” you say, aware that you sounded a bit stupid. “A Pokemon like you, with enormous amounts of energy, right? Death energy,” you say, sitting back on your heels and rubbing at your own arms to warm yourself up. You take a deep breath in and out. “And someone weaponized that Pokemon’s energy.” 

Eternatus lets out a roar at this. You can hear the anger in its cry, and the noise reverberates around the cave long after Eternatus falls silent. 

“So you want your energy back out of the Power Plant, to keep something like that from happening?” You ask. Eternatus makes another sound of what you think is presumably agreement. “So it wasn’t because you hate Rose that you affected him again. Or at least, not just because you hate him.” You take deep breaths, struggling to keep your head clear. It feels somewhat like you’re drowning, like no matter how deeply you breathe the air around you, it’s still not enough. You wonder vaguely if you’re panicking, or if this is Eternatus’ poison acting on you. Or both. 

Just a little longer, you tell yourself. 

“If I help you - if I get the energy out of the Power Plant - Galar’s going to face a crisis in a thousand years, isn’t it?” You say, remembering what you’d seen that day in the Power Plant. It had been just a flash - but it was thousands of faces, starved and injured, men and women and children, each looking at you accusingly. 

You can’t tell if you’re just remembering them, or if they’re really there around you. They move, shifting from one foot to the other (if they have both feet, you notice), some murmuring and pointing. You can’t help but remember what Rose had said about you going down in history as the person who had stopped the man who would have been the hero of Galar. 

“Eternatus,” you moan. The visions don’t disappear; in fact, you can’t even see the Dragon Pokemon anymore. “I know we’re not your kind - us humans. I know you have no reason to care about us. But please, you have to understand - that amount of suffering - it’s enormous -” 

The thousands of faces around you disappear, and you see Eternatus chained up, writhing as cords pump out its energy. 

And then you see Hammerlocke Stadium, an enormous beam of light emitting from it just like the one you had seen in the town with three rocks; but the beam begins falling, back to Galar… 

“No!” You cry out; if that beam lands, if it splits the ground asunder the way you’d seen it with that bird Pokemon, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Pokemon and human lives would be lost. 

But then, there’s just the cave, and you’re looking at Eternatus, its great, glowing form undulating in the air. You suddenly understand the choice it has to make. All three of the possibilities are ghastly - but at least the option to stave off the energy crisis for another thousand years entails the least imminent amount of suffering and the most potential to avert it. 

“Does anyone ever stop the energy crisis?” You ask, but Eternatus remains silent. “Can anyone? Anyone in a thousand years?” 

Slowly, the air ripples, and Rose appears before you again. You start to sob. 

“He’s the only one?!” You cry. “You’re not psychic - you don’t know that -” Eternatus makes a noise, almost sad, as if it’s saying you’re right, I don’t know that. 

But you still consider that it might be right, anyway. 

There’s no good answer, you realize. You can’t ask Eternatus to allow itself to be enslaved, and you can’t do that to it, anyway. Although the energy crisis is in the distant future, it will ravage Galar itself, and take the most amount of lives and cause arguably the most suffering. Though, you realize, if Eternatus’ energy is weaponized, there’s no telling how many wars could be started, how many regions blasted off the map - 

But there’s another way, you remind yourself. Eternatus’ poison feels all - consuming in your mind, but looking up at the vision of Rose, smiling demurely, one hand in his pocket the way you’d seen him dozens of times, you remember something he’d said to you, once - if he can figure out how to artificially recreate Eternatus’ energy, it could surpass even the cleanest, most efficient means of energy generation available today. And, you realize, the Dynamax energy won’t ever run out. 

“There’s a fourth way,” you gasp, staggering to your feet. Rose disappears in front of you, and Eternatus cocks its skeletal face to watch you carefully. You move closer to the dragon, reaching out for it. “Eternatus, there’s a fourth option - Rose said once, if he can figure out how to artificially recreate your energy, Galar would have the cleanest energy source imaginable, and we would never face a crisis. We just have to figure out how to do that -” 

Eternatus cuts you off with an enormous roar that shakes the cave around you. 

A beam of light erupts at your feet, and you spring back. The implication is clear - this, too, will lead to the energy being weaponized. 

“No!” You cry, and dare to put your hand into the beam of light. There’s nothing really there - just thin air, and the vision disappears as if you’d shattered it. “Eternatus, I know you don’t have any reason to trust us. You didn’t choose me because I’m pure of heart or anything they say in the stories - I was convenient for you, the only way for you to get out of a terrible situation. I’m not a hero. But if you let us have your energy, it will be put to good use! If anyone can figure out what to do with it, it’s Rose! You know it’s true - you showed me yourself!” 

Suddenly, you’re in the Power Plant again, Eternatus chained and screaming before you. By your side, Rose turns to you. His eyes are narrowed calculatingly. 

“It’s for the good of Galar, darling,” he says coldly. 

“We don’t want you chained!” You scream, and the chained Eternatus disappears before you. Rose stays at your side, folding his hands behind his back. An enormous machine rises out of the ground; it’s shaped like a glass flower. 

“We must deploy the Ultimate Weapon,” Rose says. 

“Those aren’t the only options!” You shout. “Rose is a good man!” 

You’re on the roof of Rose Tower, the wind whipping your hair about your face. Rose turns to you, an enormous amount of sadness in his eyes. 

“I’m sure this must feel awful for you,” he says, repeating the last words he’d said to you as he’d broken up with you. Your heart cracks and you nearly give up right then and there. “But one day, you’ll see that this was the right decision, in the end.” 

None of these things are the right decision. Rage wells up within you once more. 

“So what, he makes dumb decisions like it’s his second job!” You scream, swiping at the vision to make it disappear before you. You turn back to Eternatus, sucking air into your lungs, which feel like they’re on fire now. “They’re dumb decisions, not malicious ones! Sure, he hurts some people in the process! He’s hurt me! He’s _human_ ,” you sob. “We hurt each other, and we forgive each other. Don’t just show me the shittiest decisions Rose has made and act like that’s his whole person. Show me the time where he was planning to start experimenting with your energy, and I told him to wait, and he actually listened to me and was going to wait until you affected him in the Power Plant. Show me the way he carried me out of the Power Plant when he realized he’d hurt me!” You fall back to your knees; it’s getting impossibly hard to stay standing with your skin and lungs both burning. “Show me the Rose who talked about helping Galar with a light in his eyes! Show me the Rose who thinks that it’s a travesty that miners are asked to give their lives to keep our energy flowing! Individually, he can be dangerous. But when he’s got the right people around him, he’s amazing.” 

Group after group of scientists stand before you now. Their faces are ever shifting; you can’t keep track of them. They’re all touching the computers in the Power Plant, running measurements on the capacitors. 

Some of them murmur about using the energy as a weapon, but are quickly shot down. But over time as the groups change, more people murmur about it, until finally, plans are being made to draw up the Ultimate Weapon. 

You’re exhausted, the edges of your vision beginning to turn black. 

“There will always be people who will want to do the wrong thing, Eternatus,” you say, dragging yourself back to your feet. Each word feels nearly impossible to get out; your tongue is thick and dry in your mouth, your lips chapped. You’re swaying on your feet, and you know you don’t have long at all now. “But there will always be people who will want to do the right thing, too.” 

“And we have to believe that those people will always stand strong and will always outnumber the people who would do the wrong thing!” A voice rings out in the cave. It sounds like Hop, and you start to cry as you sink back to your knees. It’s fitting, somehow, that your best friend should be the one to send you off into the next life. 

“If we don’t believe that, how could we ever keep moving forward day to day?” Another voice, smoother and deeper, says. Rose. Your hands dig into the dirt as you continue to suck in what little of precious air you can get. You really do wish you’d spoken to him just one last time. You can only hope what you’ve done will make some sort of difference for Galar. 

Suddenly, strong arms wrap around your waist, and you slump against a broad shoulder. Everything feels like it’s moving slowly around you, but even so, it takes a long moment for you to realize that this is no vision - you’d cut through them with your hands; they had no substance to them. 

Another pair of arms steadies you on the other side, pulling you upright. 

“Hop?” You breathe. He’s watching you carefully, his face worried but determined as he glances between you and Eternatus. 

“All right, mate?” He asks. 

“Rose?” You murmur, turning to the arms that had caught you first. 

“Darling,” he says, green eyes soft and anxious as he gazes at you. 

“Am I dying?” You ask him. 

“Hopefully not,” another voice calls; you turn over your shoulder, steadied by the two men at your side, to find Raihan, giving you a smile, though you can see his face is full of worry, too. He stands shoulder to shoulder with Leon, Nessa, Marnie, Piers, and, to your enormous surprise, Bede. 

“I’ll kick your ass if you die on us now,” Marnie warns you, though you can see she’s starting to cry. 

“Bloody hell, she’s in a bad way, but she’s gonna be fine,” Piers sighs, elbowing his little sister. 

You smile at the crowd, then turn back to Eternatus. But Rose is already a step ahead of you. 

“Eternatus!” He calls, his voice thick with emotion. “The things I planned for you - I see now how awful they could have been. I can offer you only my heartfelt apology, and, for whatever it’s worth, my promise that I will do my best to protect you and your energy unto the ends of Galar, and until the ends of time. Our Champion is right,” he laughs, turning to you. “I do make stupid decisions like it’s my second job. I am only human, and perhaps a particularly foolish one at times. But I’m better with the right people around me, and I’m always learning to be a better man in and of myself, as well.” He takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. He’s shaking, you realize. “I can never offer you a guarantee that your energy will be safe. Like we said, there will always be people trying to use beautiful things for corrupt purposes.” He’s starting to breathe heavily, too, and you realize that he’s likely badly affected by the poison in the air, too. He had been more exposed than any of you had. 

“But there will always be people like us there to stop them!” Hop cries, one of the arms around you squeezing you. You smile over at Hop and manage to squeeze him back. 

“That’s the beauty of humanity!” Leon’s voice shouts from behind you. 

Eternatus studies you all for a moment, then inches forward towards you, Hop, and Rose. It lowers its enormous skeletal jaws, bringing them close. Rose sucks in a deep breath beside you. Hop lets out a low moan of terror. But you can see Eternatus doesn’t mean to hurt you, and you reach out for it with one trembling hand, your fingers glowing purple-red as you make the slightest contact with it. 

Eternatus makes a small sound, and all around the entire crowd of you, the Power Plant appears again. The capacitors hum with Eternatus’ energy, and there’s a bizarre machine in the center which glows with a red light, processing the air around it and pumping energy into the capacitors. It’s different than the machine that created the Ultimate Weapon. 

It’s Rose’s reactor. 

“Is everyone else seeing this?!” Bede exclaims behind you. 

“Quiet, you bloody chicken!” Piers shouts. 

Eternatus makes another sound. 

“Thank you,” you breathe, and draw back from Eternatus. “If things go wrong…you’ll know where the Plant is and how to stop it.” 

“But we’ll do everything in our power to keep things from going wrong,” Rose adds quickly. 

Eternatus pulls itself back up into the air as your vision becomes black and foggy around the edges again. You feel, very suddenly, that this is goodbye. 

“Will I see you again?” You ask it. But you don’t get a reply, because your legs turn to jelly under you and the world fades to black.


	31. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last couple chapters, everyone! Sorry for not posting one last night - I was really tired from work and I kept editing the dialogue of this chapter and didn't feel 100% ready to post it yet haha.
> 
> Also, I'm curious - do you all think that the Pokemon Center treats just Pokemon or are they also a human hospital? Is there a human hospital in Pokemon? I don't believe one has ever been shown (and I suppose it makes sense b/c most 10 - 11 year old kids don't find that these are an important part of their lives haha).

“She’s waking up! Everyone, she’s waking up!” A familiar voice calls, rousing you from the depths of darkness. 

“Arceus, Hop, shout a little louder, would you?” A girl’s voice retorts. “You’ll wake up all the people and Pokemon back here.” Marnie, you realize. 

Your hand is warm, and something squeezes it gently. It takes a moment before it dawns on you that it’s another hand. 

“Come back to us, darling,” Rose is calling you. Your eyes flutter open and struggle to bring the world around you into focus. The first thing you see is Rose’s green gaze, his pretty eyes welling up with tears. “There you are. Oh, Arceus, there you are.” The tears spill over, running down his cheeks. 

Someone grabs your other hand, and when you turn to look, you find Hop, holding your hand tightly to his chest, tears in his eyes, too. 

“Bloody hell, mate, you really gave us a scare,” he says. 

“That’s putting it mildly,” Marnie says, adding her hand to yours and Hop’s. 

“Sorry,” you breathe with a quiet laugh. You’re relieved to find that your skin and lungs don’t burn, and the air you draw in is as sweet as any you’ve ever tasted. 

On your other side, Rose kisses your hand, his tears hot against your skin. When you turn to look at the handsome man, he can’t meet your eyes. Instead, he presses his forehead to the back of your hand. 

Suddenly, the curtains around your hospital bed burst open with an influx of people. 

“She’s okay?!” Leon is exclaiming, rushing to the foot of your bed. 

"She’s awake!” Raihan confirms, grabbing one of your feet and giving it an affectionate squeeze. 

“Thank Arceus,” Nessa agrees; hovering over her shoulder is Sonia, who lets out a breath of relief. Piers stands slightly behind them all, watching with just the tiniest smile on his face. 

There’s no Bede, you realize, and you wonder if he was really ever there. Had he just been a figment of Eternatus’ poison? 

“What happened? How did you guys find me?” You ask. 

“It’s mostly thanks to Rose,” Hop explains, nodding over at him. “After you sent him that last text, he tried calling you a whole bunch of times. When you didn’t pick up, he called Leon to see if he knew what you were doing, and when Leon didn't, Lee called me and put me in touch with Rose. Good thing, too, or else we might not have made it in time,” Hop says, both a little proudly and a little anxiously. “Poor Rose probably thought he was going in alone, but he needed me because I was the only one with the access to your Find my Phone app. And then Leon sent out a message to the group text...you can imagine how it went from there,” Hop laughs. 

“None of us were staying behind,” Marnie grins. 

“Rose was pissed,” Leon says, a little sheepishly. “And he probably could have reached you with just Hop a couple hours before we made it to you. But…I remembered Eternatus’ strength. I told him we needed every Trainer, ever Pokemon team, we could get to try to keep you safe.” 

“And he listened to you? Even though it took longer to get everyone together?” You ask, eyebrows flying to your hairline in surprise. 

“He did,” Leon affirms. “And he personally coordinated the whole effort, too.” 

You turn back to Rose, who’s slowly recollecting himself, raising his head from your hand. His green eyes meet yours with a soft gaze, and he shakes his head just the tiniest bit. 

“Oh, is he crying?” Sonia says softly. 

“Rose,” you murmur. 

“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I drove you to doing that -” 

“No,” you say quickly. “No, nobody drove me to doing anything. That was exactly what I should have done a long time ago. It’s what Eternatus chose me for; it’s why it let me capture it. I’d been putting it off, actively ignoring it, throwing myself into things with you because they were easier to deal with. After you broke up with me, I realized I had no more excuses, and if I kept making excuses, we’d get repeats of what happened in Hammerlocke, maybe all around Galar, and maybe with more people than just you.” 

“Wait, what happened in Hammerlocke?” Marnie pipes up. 

“Did you say Rose broke up with you?” Hop interjects, shocked 

You start to talk, but Raihan tuts at you. 

“Ah-ah,” he says. “You should rest. I’ll start with the story of Hammerlocke, and you can take it from there,” he says. 

Beside him, Piers rolls his eyes. 

“You people never have a quiet day, do you?”   


* * *

  


When you and Raihan finish telling the story of that day - Rose flinching as you explained to your friends that he’d chosen to break up with you, thinking it would keep you safe - there’s a long pause. 

“I felt I had to finally confront Eternatus after that,” you explain. “It was my duty both as its Trainer and as Champion. If I didn’t - who knows what it could have done to Rose. To the people of Galar.” 

“A Champion never has to go into things alone, though,” Leon says, resting one of his hands on the blanket over your foot. 

“Yeah,” Hop echoes. “You’ve always got us.” 

“I didn’t want any of you to get hurt,” you explain. “After seeing what happened to Rose in the Power Plant…” 

“Eternatus is definitely nothing to play around with,” Raihan confirms for you. “I saw Rose that day. And then I saw Ms. Oleana, too, when she had to go back down to fix the power outage. It was…terrifying. The things it can do to people…” he trails off. 

“Where is Oleana, anyway?” You ask. 

“She’s taking care of things back at Wyndon for me,” Rose explains quietly. 

“And…was I just imagining things, or was Bede there instead of Sonia?” You ask. 

Sonia smiles nervously. 

“Yeah, I offered to stay back and keep an eye on the Power Plant,” she admits sheepishly. “I’m not the best Trainer, so…” 

“You’re great, Sonia,” Nessa says gently. “No matter whether you battle or help from behind-the-scenes.” 

“But yeah,” Hop says. “Bede was there. He was in on the group text, so he agreed to come. I wonder where he’s got off to now, though?” 

“He kinda disappeared when we got you back to the Pokemon Center,” Marnie explains. 

“And what about Eternatus?” You ask. 

“It left, too,” Hop says with a shrug. “I guess it decided it was willing to coexist with us after all. Just…on its own terms. As a free Pokemon.” 

“Rose said earlier that he was able to get in touch with some of the folks at Macro Cosmos, and they confirmed that it did leave its energy in the Power Plant,” Raihan offers. You prop yourself up onto your elbows, a smile breaking across your face. 

“Then we did it,” you grin. 

“We did it,” Hop agrees, grinning back at you. 

“The people of Galar still have a chance to divert the upcoming energy crisis,” Leon beams. 

“Rose still has a chance,” you say quietly, turning back to him again. He’s still holding your hand tightly, but now, his green eyes are lowered, sorrow and regret etched into his features. You turn back to your friends. “Can I have a moment with Rose, alone?” You ask. 

“Only a moment,” Marnie says, a teasing glint in her eyes. 

“Call us back in when you’re done,” Raihan says, giving your foot a gentle pat. 

Hop gives your hand one last squeeze, an affectionate but fierce light in his eyes that says more than what words could ever express. He stands to leave, and the whole group around you filters out, until it’s just you and Rose. 

“Rose,” you say, turning towards him once more. He takes a deep, shuddering breath. 

“I have so much to apologize for,” he murmurs. “I don’t even know where to begin.” 

“Then let me begin by saying I understand why you broke up with me,” you admit. Rose raises his head, eyebrows furrowed, obviously confused and taken aback. “I was devastated and furious at first. I thought you were taking the easy way out by claiming you were trying to protect me. But at the end of the day, I was no better. I went to confront Eternatus alone. I thought about bringing Leon or Hop with me, and I knew they’d both come to help willingly. But I was so afraid of something happening to them because of me, so I decided to go alone.” 

Rose rubs his thumb over the back of your hand. 

“While I appreciate you admitting that,” Rose begins, brows still furrowed, “I still made my decision without listening to your input. You might have been right - I could have at least tried, done my best to research the phenomenon or figure out how to protect you before just ending it between us. I suppose it must have seemed terribly callous of me to end things between us as if it were an easy thing to do. But it wasn’t easy - by the next day, when my head had cleared a little, I realized I’d made the worst decision of my life. Or, at least one of them - there’s been a few contenders for the top spot, recently. But the point is, I acted rashly, yet again, and I’m sorry for that.” 

“It hurt a lot at the time,” you admit. “I wanted so badly for you to listen to my side of things.” Rose nods silently, eyes still downcast. “But, Rose, I think you might have been willing to listen to me, to sort through things more logically, the next day. Once your head had cleared, like you’d said. After experiencing Eternatus’ poison myself, I can see how afraid and how unsure of yourself - how unsure of the very reality we live in - it can make you feel. I think you were scared and not entirely back to yourself, yet, and you made a bad decision while in that state.” 

“I was so afraid,” Rose admits. “I was horrified to realize I’d hurt you in the Power Plant. I don’t know if I’ve said it yet, but I’m so, so sorry for hurting you,” he says, shaking his head. 

“It wasn’t really you, Rose,” you sigh, reaching out for him with your other hand and stroking his cheek gently. Rose’s eyes flutter closed and he leans into the contact. 

“But I still did it - my body did,” he sighs. “And then to think that you were right to follow me, to not trust me -” 

“I need to apologize for that,” you say quickly, letting your fingers brush against the groomed hairs of his beard. “Following you was unacceptable - I should have trusted you -” 

“Can you imagine if you had?” Rose says, turning his face more into the hand on his cheek as his eyes close sadly again. 

“I trust you now,” you offer quietly. 

Rose takes a deep, steadying breath, his eyes not yet meeting yours. 

“Are you sure you should?” He breathes. “I’ve hurt you so much. I could still hurt you.” 

“You’re a good man, Rose,” you murmur, stroking his cheek tenderly. “I can’t hold anything you did while under Eternatus’ influence - or recovering from it - against you. You only had the best of intentions; they were just warped by the Ultimate Pokemon’s power. Even after we got you out of the Power Plant, you only meant well. Like I said, I came to understand why you’d want to protect me when I decided to confront Eternatus alone. But Eternatus is leaving us in peace, Rose. It won’t try to take over you again. And what you said to Eternatus about wanting to be a better man, about wanting to learn to rely on the right people - I believe you meant it when you said that.” 

“I did,” Rose murmurs back, one of his hands moving up to rest over yours on his cheek. He presses his hand to yours for a long moment, then gently pulls your hand away from his face. Each of his hands holds to each of yours, and he finally raises his eyes back to meet your gaze. “I want nothing more than to be a better man - to learn from my many mistakes. For my sake, of course, but also for Galar’s, and perhaps most of all, for yours. I don’t think I really knew fear until I saw you standing up to Eternatus alone. Or, maybe, until I felt you collapse in my arms.” His voice catches for a moment, thick with emotion. He has to clear his throat to be able to continue. “Even if you don’t take me back, I want to do everything I can to make the world a better place, so you can feel safe and happy and free to live in it.” 

“Rose,” you sigh, squeezing both his hands. “That’s…really sweet of you. But I would take you back, you know. If…if you wanted me again.” 

“Of course I do,” Rose breathes quickly, squeezing your hands back. “I don’t remember it, but you said I told you I loved you when we were down in the Power Plant. That was the truth, darling. I know things have been an absolute whirlwind between us, and nothing has been easy or normal. But I have grown to love you, darling, and I could see myself loving you for my whole life, if I still have the opportunity to.” Tears well up once again in Rose’s green eyes, and you feel them spring to yours at the sight. 

“Of course you do. Rose, I love you, too,” you breathe, and slowly, gently, Rose pulls you into a soft kiss. 

With his lips on yours once more, it feels, for a brief moment, like everything is right in the world again.


	32. Reparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter ahhhhhhhhh

You were released from the hospital by the next day, with both Rose and Hop staying by your side all night, sleeping on little cots set up on each side of your bed. You had smiled when you’d seen them both the next day, having woken up just before them. You’re lucky, you think, that you have two men in your life who love you, each in their own very different way. You can’t help but feel that surreal, almost dream-like, peace wash over you again - the feeling that everything was right in the world. 

When you sit up and check your phone, you see a few texts from the rest of the gang, all wishing you well and asking you to keep them updated. But there’s one at the bottom, from Bede. 

_Saw you made it to the hospital OK. I’m sure you’ll be taken care of there. Never knew you to be one to make such stupid decisions yourself - guess you and Rose are pretty well-suited to each other._

You snort and flop back on your bed, immediately brought back to real life. 

The noise startles Rose and Hop, both of whom sit up blearily. 

“All right there, mate?” Hop asks. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” you say. “I just got the most annoying text from Bede - listen to this. He’s such a snot.” You read the text out loud, surprised when Rose snorts a little in laughter at Bede’s comment. 

“He might be onto something,” Rose says with a deadpan humor. Somehow, that’s even funnier than Bede’s text, and you and Hop both break out in laughter. Rose smiles through it all, swinging his legs over the edge of the cot and smoothing out his very-wrinkled suit and tugging to fix his tie. “It’s too bad he took off,” Rose murmurs as the laughter dies down. “I really would have liked to talk with him.” 

“You might be the first person to have ever said those words about Bede and meant it,” Hop quips. You laugh, but chide him playfully. 

“Hop! Just because you’re still bitter over what a jerk he was to you that one time -” 

“It was more than one time,” Hop insists. At your other side, Rose makes a quiet humming noise. 

“What’s this?” He asks, frowning down at his phone. “Bede’s texted me, too.” You and Hop quiet down quickly as Rose’s brow furrows further, his fingers rising to touch his lips thoughtfully as he reads. 

“What’s it say?” You ask. 

“He wants to meet with us,” Rose murmurs. When he raises his eyes to you, they’re full of hope.   


* * *

  


You’re not exactly sure how, but somehow the meeting with Bede had been planned for Spikemuth. Bede had practically panicked when Rose had offered to come to him in Ballonlea - probably something to do with not wanting Opal or anyone else in his new life to be involved, you’d figured - and seemed to be a lot more comfortable when you’d told Rose to suggest meeting with him somewhere else that Rose was already planning to be. 

So it was that, several days later, you and Hop were hanging out in the Pokemon Center in Spikemuth while Rose and Piers were having a meeting by his gym grounds to discuss the future of the Spikemuth gym. Rose had held true to his promise to compromise with Piers more; he’d had several plans for enormous stages and concert venues drawn up, with the idea of completely refurbishing the place and relying on music as the draw for the Gym, not Dynamaxing. It’s actually not a terrible idea, you think, though you’ve been careful to warn him in advance not to be offended if Piers didn’t want something quite as large as all that. 

“You sure you want to go through with this camping trip?” Hop is asking you. “You’ve been through a lot lately, and I just wonder if we shouldn’t be pushing it quite so much.” 

“I’ve still got a few days to finish getting my strength up,” you remind him. “But yeah, I’d really like to make this trip happen. Champion duties have been exhausting, and everything with Rose and Eternatus was…also exhausting,” you laugh. “It felt really good the last time I was out there hiking. And we always had so much fun.” 

“Yeah,” Hop says, a glimmer in his eye. “Can’t help but wonder how much we’re really going to get done out there, with the whole gang along, though. And when was the last time that Rose even hiked? Does he even know if he likes hiking?” 

“He’s actually got a lot more strength than you’d think,” you laugh. “He didn’t always live in the lap of luxury, either. He was a miner before he started Macro Cosmos, y’know.” 

“I thought I’d heard that,” Hop says. “Well, it’ll be fun to get to spend more time with you, either way.” 

“You too, Hop,” you agree. “I don’t want anything - Championship status, or new boyfriend, or anything - to ever come between us. You’re my best friend in the whole world. I’m sorry if I haven’t been as good of a friend lately.” 

“It’s nothing to be sorry about,” Hop says with another shrug. “You’ve had a lot to adjust to. And it’s not like you were totally ignoring me, either.” 

You smile at Hop. There’s a reason, you think, why he was chosen to be one of the heroes of Galar along with you. 

“You’re the best,” you tell him.   


* * *

  


When Rose returns to the Pokemon Center, you’re surprised to see him accompanied by both Piers and Marnie. 

“How did everything go?” You ask. Piers grins. 

“The new Gym Leader of Spikemuth,” he says, gesturing down to Marnie, “thinks that Rose has some spot-on ideas. Not sure they’re entirely up my alley, but I suppose that doesn’t matter as much anymore, now, does it?” 

“Marnie, that’s amazing!” You exclaim, rushing over to hug her. 

“Congratulations!” Hop cheers, wrapping his arms around the two of you.   


* * *

  


You and Rose walk along the main street of Spikemuth, your arm looped around his. Hop had decided to stay with Marnie and Piers for a little bit and hear about some of the new possibilities for the Spikemuth gym. 

“I’m so delighted that Marnie is open to some of these ideas,” Rose is saying. 

“I’m glad, too,” you agree, giving his arm a little squeeze, feeling a sense of deja-vu. You’d been here before, the last time you met Bede in Spikemuth. “Hey, there was something right around this area that I wanted to show you,” you say, scanning the walls of Spikemuth. “Or at least, I thought it had been here.” 

“What are you looking for?” Rose asks. 

“It’s this poster - oh! There it is! Come look at this,” you say, tugging Rose over to one of the walls, still papered with flyers and posters of days gone by. “See it?” You ask, pointing towards the poster with a younger Rose that you’d seen on your last visit to Spikemuth. 

“Bloody hell,” Rose swears with a quiet little laugh. “It’s me.” 

“You look so young,” you laugh. “I’m glad you decided to grow out the full beard and mustache, by the way. You’re cute there, but the full look is really good on you.” 

“Thanks,” Rose says, his free hand touching his mustache a little absently. “I was actually pretty young there, you know. I’d just started Macro Cosmos not too long ago, and we were already seeing more success than I’d imagined. Arceus, I must have still been mining, what, a year before this was taken? You can tell, too, because I’m so much thinner,” he says, a little self-deprecating smile on his lips. 

“Don’t get me wrong - you’re cute there,” you say. “But I think you’re a lot cuter with all your softness as you are now. And no matter what shape or size you are, I’ll love you.” Rose turns to you and smiles, then presses a quick kiss to your lips. 

“I’m a lucky man, to be loved for who I am, not just what I look like,” he murmurs. “Thank you for pointing this out to me - this poster was good to see. It’s important to be reminded of where I came from,” he says, then starts walking again. You fall into step by his side, and Rose begins to muse out loud. “It’s funny - you can even see that I wasn’t really comfortable with the camera yet, the way I was pulling my suitcoat closed and had my arm folded across my chest like that.” He chuckles a little. 

“Right,” you say, a coy smile forming on your lips. “Not quite like that, right?” You point to another poster a little further down the street. You probably hadn’t noticed it last time because Bede had dragged you down a side street. This poster of Rose is much more recent - probably within the last year. He’s got his signature gray suit on, the jacket open and revealing his red tie and white shirt, which is puckering just a little with the strain of covering his plumper belly and chest. Rose is giving the camera a coy look, his head tipped onto one hand, while a Pokeball balances in the other. 

“I guess I, er, got a lot more comfortable in front of the camera,” Rose says, and when you turn to look up at him, you can see that he’s blushing furiously. 

“You did, and it’s a good thing. You need to be good in front of a camera in your job. And besides, Rose, you should show off what you’ve got. You’re gorgeous,” you tell him. Rose blushes even deeper. 

“Is this really that snug on me?” He asks nervously, tugging at his white shirt a little. 

“It’s sexy,” you say, and usher him to keep walking along. Truthfully, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen him wear a single top that isn’t snug on him - even the sweatshirt of his incognito outfit had been very formfitting - but you decide not to tease him too much, for now. 

But after just a few steps, Rose stops abruptly, looking at the wall right by where the more recent poster had been. You follow his gaze and find a copy of the more recent poster - but this one has been egregiously defaced. Rose’s face has been given dark bags under his eyes, lines in his forehead. His eyebrows have been drawn over to give him a pathetic expression, his hair scribbled on to appear long and unkempt, a little bit of snot and drool drawn onto his nose and mouth. A corner of the poster is torn off entirely. 

Somehow, even though it’s just run-of-the-mill graffiti, it looks honestly ghoulish, and from a distance, it looks almost…real. 

“Arceus,” you swear, but you don’t really know what else to say besides that. Rose looks at the poster for a long moment, sadness evident in his eyes. “Rose,” you finally say. “There’s always gonna be people who don’t like you.” 

“It’s not that,” he says quickly, tearing his eyes away. “I know that. I learned that in prison,” he says, letting out a short, rueful laugh. “It’s just - I think that could have really been me, someday. If things had gone differently. If you hadn’t come to visit me that first day.” 

You’re not entirely sure what to say, and settle for sliding your arm across his waist, pulling him close to you. Rose puts his arm around you and pulls you into him in return. 

"I’m glad you’re safe, Rose,” you finally say. 

“I am,” he affirms, giving you a tight squeeze. “Safe and happy. Though, honestly, I’ll be even happier if Bede will be willing to listen to me. I’m so nervous about meeting him soon….I, well, I miss him enormously. I understand he could sometimes be a thorn in you and your friends’ sides, but to me he was like…he was like family. I always wanted to see him achieve his wildest dreams and grow into the talented Pokemon Master I knew he could be. And I wanted to be there with him to celebrate his success.” 

A quiet sniffling sound from behind you makes you turn around. 

“Fuck,” Bede swears, turning his face away. 

“Bede,” Rose says, letting go of you and moving towards the man. Bede throws out his hand to stop him, though, and Rose pauses in his tracks. 

“I don’t want your pity for crying,” he says, recomposing himself, though you can still see the way he’s biting his bottom lip forcefully. 

“It’s not pity,” Rose says. “I’m really happy to see you.” 

“You saw me earlier, when we were trying to fix this idiot’s mistake with Eternatus,” Bede deflects, gesturing to you. 

“Please don’t call my love an idiot, Bede,” Rose says, and warmth floods your chest to hear him stand up for you. “And it wasn’t really a mistake, was it?” 

“No, but it would have been if she’d died!” Bede says, glaring at you angrily as tears spill over his eyes again. 

Did he actually care about you? 

“Don’t worry, Bede,” you say, moving in towards him. Bede doesn’t stop you the way he’s stopped Rose, and you put one hand on his shoulder. “I don’t plan on letting you off the hook so easily. You’re gonna have to put up with me for a long time to come.” 

“Good,” Bede says, putting a hand back on your shoulder and wiping away his tears in his sleeve furiously. “Cause when I win the Champion title next year, I wanna win it from you. Can’t have you dying thinking you’re actually a better trainer than me.” 

“Of course not,” you snort. “Though…Bede, I’m surprised you came to fight Eternatus.” 

“What, you don’t think I’d show up to help?” He asks; you’re not sure if he’s being defensive or if he’s actually trying to be a friendly sort of teasing. “Leon’s been including me on all your group texts since you were making plans to meet up at Bob’s Your Uncle. So when he sent out the group text letting everyone know what they had to do, I wasn’t going to be left out.” 

“Well…thank you,” you say. It’s surprisingly hard to thank Bede for anything, but his face softens a little and his posture relaxes. 

“You’re welcome,” he says. It’s probably the first honest exchange you’ve ever had with him. After a moment, he asks you, “That thing - Eternatus - it really does take over people, doesn’t it?” 

“It does,” you agree. “It felt like it was going to kill me with its poison. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. When Hop first showed up, I thought it was a dream to bring me over into the next life. And I’ve seen Rose under its influence, too. It’s…not pretty,” you say brusquely, glancing at the man. He grimaces, but nods his agreement, then takes a deep breath. 

“That’s actually putting it nicely, mostly for my sake. Under Eternatus’ influence, I snapped a necklace I’d given my love off her neck with just brute strength,” he says ruefully. “And then I pushed her into a podium and hurt her back. And in the aftermath, I was so confused and afraid, I broke up with her.” He shakes his head, trying to clear it; it’s obvious those memories still feel incredibly painful for Rose. “Eternatus is very much capable of making us hurt those we love, Bede.” 

Bede is silent for a long moment as he lets his hand fall off your shoulder. You pull your hand away, too. 

“All I wanted was for you to be proud of me,” he says quietly. “You’ve believed in me since I was a child. To have you push me away, and then disgrace yourself like that…” 

“I’m sorry, Bede,” Rose says. “I still don’t fully agree with your actions, and I probably would still have had to disqualify you as Chairman - but I should have handled things better as your friend. Moreover, I shouldn’t have allowed you to be brought into things with the Wishing Stars and Eternatus in the first place. Your job should have been just to participate in the Gym Challenge, not to do Macro Cosmos’ leg work. Bede, what you’ve seen of me the last year wasn’t my best self. It wasn’t even really me. But 

If you can let me back into your life, I can promise you, I’ll do better by you.” 

Bede bites his lower lip again, eyes welling up with tears. 

“That’s all I’ve really wanted to hear you say,” he says. Rose approaches him with arms wide open, and Bede moves to him, letting Rose pull him into a tight hug. 

“I’ve missed you so, so much, Bede,” Rose hums. “You really are like family to me. And I hope you know, I am proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you.” 

“Thank you,” Bede sobs. Rose rubs his upper back soothingly. 

“Thank _you,_ Bede.”


	33. The End of the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm actually super emotional posting this, the very last chapter for La Vie en Rose! This fic has meant so much to me over the course of its writing. It started off as a little daydream after finishing SwSh in the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine. I decided to try to start writing it out and never expected it to turn into anything this big. This is my biggest fic ever by at least 30k words, and the first full length fic I've written in about 7 years. This fic has also let me cross off something amazing on my bucket list, which is doing the equivalent of a NaNoWriMo - 50k words in 30 days. I wrote La Vie en Rose, at 80k ish words, in 3 weeks. Writing this fic gave me a sense of purpose during the quarantine and connected me to an amazing community of people here, on Discord, and on Tumblr. I cannot thank everyone who has read this enough. Thank you all for enjoying this along with me, and in many cases, for befriending me along the way. Thank you to everyone who commented or left kudos, or even to the folks who enjoyed this in silence! But most of all, a HUGE shout-out in particular to my most regular commenters, including in no particular order SpirkForeverKismet, YourBlueberryMajesty, Seynne, FizzyBubbleTea and JosipaKumori. I think each of you guys commented on practically every single chapter I put out and it was such a delight to get notifications from you every day and see what you thought of everything along the way<3  
> For anyone who wants to keep in touch with me but isn't in touch already, you can find me on Tumblr as username Apharine. I'm also on Discord as username Apharine. Come talk with me about whatever, sob about Rose, I'm sure we'll have fun <3 I'm also taking requests for SwSh drabbles over on my Tumblr and will probably be posting these as a collection of some sort on here, so PLEASE go send me an ask with some things to write about there!!! And, of course, if you ever have anything you're excited for me to read that you've written, please come tell me and I will gladly repay all the love you all have shown to me <3 Stay safe, stay healthy and stay in touch guys! I hope you enjoy the end of our story <3

You wake Rose up early the next day. The two of you had taxi’d back to Hammerlocke after the meeting with Bede had ended, staying in a hotel for the night. Bede had declined joining you, saying he wanted to meet with Hop and Marnie and try to get on a better foot with them. 

“You sure you wanna do this?” You ask Rose as he rises. Rose nods. 

“I didn’t take today off for no reason, and neither did you,” he says with a smile, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. 

Before you get dressed, you check your texts. You’d written to Bede last night in the taxi, asking if he wanted to join the upcoming camping trip. 

_Not a pity invite, FYI,_ you’d written. _I just think it’d actually be fun to have you there._

Bede had written back at some point while your phone had been on silent, charging. 

_Sure, I’ll join. Last I remember you and Hop were pretty much novices in the Wild Area and the group will need another pair of capable hands._

You roll your eyes. If this was Bede’s idea of being on good terms with someone, you can’t imagine how Hop and Marnie’s meeting with him had gone. You’d sent out a group text to the two of them yesterday asking about it, and you check the replies today. 

_He was okay,_ Marnie’s written. _He’s kind of a tool though, isn’t he?_

_Kind of?_ Hop had written back. _I’m challenging him to another battle when we’re out in the Wild Area camping, and this time, I’m going to kick his ass! In front of Lee AND Rose, no less!_

You snort in laughter at this. 

“What’s funny, darling?” Rose asks, pulling on that ridiculous pair of mint-green and Pokeball patterned shorts. 

“Besides your apparent belief that that’s a good idea to wear in the Wild Area?” You tease him. “Hop has decided he’s going to challenge Bede to a battle while we’re camping, and has proclaimed his desire to show Bede up in front of the very people who originally endorsed us for the Gym Challenge, so I can tell that meeting last night must have been exceptionally pleasant.” 

“Bede will grow on them,” is all Rose says with a sunny smile. “And what’s wrong with these for the Wild Area?” 

“Well, darling, I know we said it’s going to just be a practice hike,” you laugh. “But your legs could still end up pretty cut up if you wear just shorts. There’s gonna be tall sawgrass, Bug-type Pokemon to bite you, bramble…” 

“Hm,” Rose hums. “A few cuts and scratches never bothered me much as a Trainer. But I suppose my movement is a little restricted in these. I should have a good pair of pants packed that I can change into.” 

The pants, you think, look much more handsome on him, and really will let him move better.  


* * *

  


“Oh, Arceus,” Rose says, turning to smile back at you. “Being out here feels amazing. I’d forgotten how good it is to be in the wild. Just like I’d forgotten how good a real battle can feel.” 

“And to think, you were worried,” you smile back at him. Truthfully, he has a lot of pep in his step, and he’s been leading the way for the last hour and a half since you’d set out from Hammerlocke. You’d expected just the opposite, for him to trail and for you to lead - after all, the whole point of your hike out was to make sure Rose felt confident enough in his physical stamina and navigation skills to keep up with you and your friends, most of whom had done a lot more hiking in the last year than Rose had. 

“I guess I had nothing much to be concerned about, after all,” Rose says, slowing his pace a little to allow you to catch up. His dark skin is covered with a thin sheen of sweat, the same as you are. He looks honestly beautiful in the mid-morning light, with not a care in the world on his shoulders. He’s smiling openly, his green eyes sparkling, that extremely handsome face of his lit up. “I used to spend a ton of time out here training and hiking during my Gym Challenge. I guess it’s kind of like riding a bicycle - you never really forget how to do it.” 

“You must have trained pretty hard, because you came pretty close to the Championship during your challenge, didn’t you?” You ask, unable to stop smiling at Rose - you’re not sure when you’ve seen this much eagerness and joy on him, and it’s infectious. 

“Second place,” he says proudly. 

“Wonder if you could beat a Champion now,” you laugh, elbowing him playfully. 

“Are you suggesting a battle?” He asks, a glimmer in his eyes. 

“Well, I did kick your butt last time we fought, but you weren’t wholly yourself, so I guess I could give you another chance if you’re up for it,” you tease him. 

“Absolutely,” he says, his smile somehow growing even wider and more brilliant. “But could we wait maybe just a bit? We’re almost at a place I loved to stop at as a Trainer, and I’d really love to show it to you.” 

“Then let’s make it there first,” you agree. Rose takes your chin in one hand and presses a kiss to your lips. You’re not sure if the giddiness you get from his attentions will ever go away with time, but as you kiss him back, you hope it doesn’t. 

Rose pulls away after a long moment, another brilliant smile crossing his features before he turns to set back out on the trail. He falls back into his quick pace, and you fall nearly into step alongside him. 

Rose’s pace doesn’t slow as he turns to climb up a steep hill, and you find yourself thanking Arceus that you had hiked often enough in the past year to keep up with him. 

“We should just turn up here and head through this thicket,” Rose tells you, pressing on. You find yourself following him, hoping his memory isn’t rusty, because the scrub you’re pushing your way through now is not the most pleasant you’ve hiked through. 

But if there’s one thing you know above all else by now, it’s that you trust Rose. 

And you know that if he finds himself in danger of going off the path he wants to be on, he’ll turn to you for help, and you’ll find your way back together. 

Finally, the bramble and brush lightens around you, and you step through to a short expanse of meadow at the edge of a cliff. The grass sways serenely in the wind, a multitude of wildflowers dancing before you. 

“Come here, love,” Rose says, extending one of his hands to you. You take it, and he presses a kiss to your knuckles before guiding you gently through the meadow. 

He brings you close enough to the edge of the cliff that you’re safe, but still can see the view before you. And what a view it is, you think. The cliff overlooks an enormous part of the Wild Area, the vast expanse of the untouched land stretching out before you in all directions. You can see the Lake Milochs, glittering like gems in the morning sun, the verdant grass rolling over hills and glens - even the Giant’s Seat standing tall, casting a shadow like an enormous sundial. You squeeze Rose’s hand tightly. 

“It’s beautiful, Rose,” you breathe, turning to look at him. He’s already looking at you, though, his brilliant green eyes sparkling. 

“I hoped you would like it,” he murmurs, both of his hands moving to your waist and slowly pulling you close. He doesn’t quite draw you into a hug, though, instead letting his forehead rest against yours, the tip of his nose on the tip of your nose. “I have a little something for you,” he says, his voice deep. One of his hands slides off of your waist and into the pocket of his sweatjacket. He takes a step back from you as he produces a small jewelry box. He opens the top of the box for you to see, and within rests the little rose necklace, the diamond stone sparkling in the sun. 

“I got it repaired,” he explains quietly. “Maybe it’s too painful for you to look at, and if it is, I understand. But I thought the way it had been repaired was a little symbolic of how we’ve been able to repair our relationship after everything that’s happened. And I was hoping you’d want to have a little piece of me close to your heart again. But if you don’t -” 

“I love it, Rose,” you say, blinking back tears. Rose’s shoulders relax with tension you hadn’t even realized he’d had, and he breaks into one of his brilliant, authentic smiles. 

“You do?” 

You nod, wiping away the tears in your eyes. Rose moves close, one hand cupping your chin again as he presses a feather-light kiss over each of your eyelids, then another kiss to your lips. 

“May I put this on you, then?” He asks, his breath hot against your skin. 

“Yes,” you agree and turn for him, moving your hair out of the way. Gently, Rose once more drapes the necklace over you, and you feel the brush of his big fingers at the back of your neck as he works to secure the clasp. 

“There we are,” he says, hands gently turning you back to face towards him. He takes a good look at you with the pendant, letting out a happy sigh at the sight. “Beautiful as ever,” he murmurs. “I think I’m going to have a very hard time not spoiling you with whatever your heart desires.” 

“My heart only desires you, Rose,” you breathe. Rose smiles. 

“Fine, then. Spoiling you with whatever I desire to spoil you with,” he chuckles quietly, one hand reaching out for your cheek, moving slowly to the back of your head. “I’ve fallen so in love with you, darling. I want nothing more than to protect you and to be good to you and make you happy. I love waking up to your beautiful face every day. Arceus, I just love you so much.” 

“Rose,” you breathe, reaching back out to him, your fingers gliding over the soft shaved portion of his hair. “How did I ever get so lucky as to have you? I love you so much, too.” 

Rose moves in until he’s kissing you, soft lips moving over yours. He kisses you passionately, deeply. When he pulls away, he breaks into another brilliant smile. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of doing that,” he murmurs. 

“Good, because I don’t think I will, either,” you admit. Rose laughs quietly, and the two of you turn your heads to look out at the view before you. What a beautiful world you live in, you think. So many wonderful things in it worth fighting and struggling for. And though Galar’s future is not yet secured, you know Galar has a chance, and your love for Rose will only grow all the stronger as you work on a solution for the energy crisis hand-in-hand. 

Far away and high in the sky, but still clear as day, you see a purple and red streak move across the great blue expanse, free and joyous.


End file.
